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COLUMBUS. 



*' ^ 33i^opaflatot; ot tje ifaftf)." 



COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC— A 
COMPREHENSIVE STORY OF THE 
DISCOVERY. By George Barton. 




With an Introduction by Rev. James 
F. LOUGHLIN, D. D., Chancellor of 
the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. 



1893: 

JOHN MURPHY and COMPANY, 
BALTIMORE. 



\Zo 




Copyright, 1893, by George Barton. 



RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO 

MOST REV. PATRICK JOHN RYAN, D. D., 

Archbishop of Philadelphia. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Author's Preface, 

Introduction, 

Columbus the Catholic, .... 
At the Court of Spain, .... 
At the Convent of La Rabida, 
Departure from Palos, .... 
Discovery of the New World, 
Columbus at Barcelona, .... 
The Church in the New vVorld, 

('olumbus in Irons, 

Plan to Recover the Holy Sepulchre, 

Death of Columbus, 

Estimates of the Character of Columbus, 
Columbus and the Church (Poem), . 
Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, 
Catholics at the World's Fair, 
Columbus at Chicago, .... 



PAGE. 

vii 
ix 

1 

12 

19 

29 

38 

50 

58 

67 

75 

82 

89 

99 

105 

120 

129 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



The aim of the present volume has been to con- 
spicuously set forth the pious zeal and religious 
fervor that characterized the life of the illustrious 
Columbus, and which finally led to the discovery 
of the New World. The work has been done 
faithfully without any attempt at exaggeration and 
with strict regard for historical fact. It shows, 
largely by the authority of non-Catholic writers, 
that this great event in the history of humanity was 
prompted by love of Holy Church and a laudable 
desire to extend its influence and domain. 

Catholics can take an honorable pride in the 
thought that this glorious Continent was discovered 
by a faithful son of the Church ; that it was an 
humble priest who first gave his aid and encourage- 
ment ; that it was the influence of a distinguished 
prelate which secured for him the countenance of 
the Spanish authorities ; that it was the substan- 

vii 



Viii A UTHORS PREFACE. 

tial assistance of a pious Catholic queen which 
made the discovery possible, and finally that the 
aifair took place under the auspices and with the 
approval of one of that long line of Supreme Pon- 
tiffs, that have graced, in an unbroken number of 
centuries, the chair of St. Peter. 

The author has also endeavored to tell the story 
of Columbus in a simple and comprehensive style. 
While giving due prominence to every striking 
feature he has omitted a mass of tedious details 
and controversial matter, which however impor- 
tant from a historical point of view, are decidedly 
uninteresting to the general reader. 

The book proper is supplemented by the encyc- 
lical of Pope Leo XIII on Columbus ; an essay 
by Rt. Rev. J. L. Spalding, Bishop of Peoria ; a 
poem on Columbus by Miss Eleanor C. Donnelly ; 
estimates on the character of Columbus by emi- 
nent ecclesiastics, and a chapter on Columbus as 
he appears at Chicago. It is to be hoped that in 
the mass of Columbian literature of the present 
day, this distinctly Catholic offering may find a 

welcome. 

G. B. 

Philadelphia, December 1, 1892. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the days of ancient paganism, the discovery of 
unknown regions of the earth and the foundation of 
new colonies were regarded as very sacred enter- 
prises, immediately superintended from first to last 
by the immortal gods. The Deity, it was believed, 
chose the hero who was to conduct the undertaking, 
and whose inspiration came directly from above. 
Religious rites dictated the time of departure. Tute- 
lary spirits hovered over the vessels on the watery 
plains, warding off tempests from the favored ones 
of Heaven, and wafting them safely to the destined 
shore. Religion received them at their arrival in 
their new home, and nursed the sacred fire which it 
was their first care to light. The anniversary of 
their coming was the holiest of days for forever- 
more; and the hero who had led them on the 
perilous journey was transformed in time into a 

ix 



X INTRODUCTION. • 

demigod, becoming the embodiment of their 
patriotism and the most popular object of their 
public worship. 

Beneath the exaggerations of pagan superstitions, 
we discern in the awe with which the ancients re- 
garded these voyages of discovery and of coloniza- 
tion, and in the reverence with which they worship- 
ped the memory of the ot/ctcrr^?, elements of truth 
and nature, which touch our hearts and find therein 
a responsive echo even in this blessed era of Chris- 
tian civilization. Never more so than during the 
present year, which has vividly recalled a name and 
an anniversary among the most glorious in the 
annals of humanity. What olKiarr]^ of old can be 
compared with the towering personality of Colum- 
bus ? What discovery of old with the discovery of 
the Western hemisphere ? 

Our purer religion forbids us to worship the great 
mariner as a demigod ; but our gratitude compels 
us to own him as our father, and history teaches us 
to honor him as a man sent of God and true to his 
divine calling. 

The perusal of the following narrative, which the 
talented Author has written in the light of the 
most trustworthy evidence, will convince every fair- 



INTRODUCTION. xi 

minded reader that never was an enterprise of dis- 
covery and colonization so thoroughly pervaded 
with the spirit of religion as that of Columbus. 
His lifelong desire to extend the boundaries of the 
Kingdom of Christ, first turned his thoughts to 
surmised regions beyond the Ocean. Having per- 
suaded himself of the existence and the accessibility 
of countries not yet reached by the Gospel of our 
Redeemer, his zeal nerved him to sustain the long 
series of his trials, the sneers of the incredulous, the 
sophistries of the learned, and the rebuffs of the 
haughty. Nor was it until he had kindled within 
the pious breast of the great Catholic Queen the 
same zeal for the conversion of unknown tribes, 
which burned in his own, that he finally obtained 
the means wherewith to attempt the expedition. 
Catholic Faith was the sacred fire which he brought 
with him across the untraversed waters, and which 
he lighted on the shore of San Salvador. 

This Continent belongs to the Church of Christ 
by every right which discovery can convey. Not 
only did Catholicity inspire the original discoverer 
to embark upon the enterprise ; Catholicity, burning 
in the breasts of knights and missionaries, opened 
up the entire Continent from the Atlantic to the 



xu INTRODUCTION. 

Pacific. And that sacred fire has never been extin- 
guished ; it still burns in the New World with ever 
increasing brilliancy. The Holy Catholic Church, 
which can justly claim the glory of having opened 
the gates of this fertile country to impoverished 
Europe, is the bond of union between the two hemis- 
pheres. She alone speaks a language common to all 
races ; she alone is capable of amalgamating all 
comers into a grand Christian nation. Her pros- 
perity is the strongest pledge of the prosperity of our 
country. 

How closely the glory of Columbus is associated 
with that of the Faith which inspired him, has been 
lately evidenced in the puny efforts made by certain 
enemies of the Catholic Church to disparage and 
malign him. These efforts have but served to bring 
into bolder relief the great truth proclaimed by the 
present Supreme Pontiff that Columbus is OurSy 
a Catholic, first, last, and at every moment of his 
life. 

In view of these facts. Catholics everywhere 
should welcome every effort made to place Colum- 
bus before the world in his true light — as a propa- 
gator of the Faith. The present volume does this 
in a comprehensive manner. 



INTR OD UOTION. xili 

In giving my own commendation to the work, 
it affords me much pleasure to say that the book 
meets with the approbation of His Grace, the Most 
Rev. Archbishop of Philadelphia, and that it has 
his best wishes for its success. 

James F. Loughlin. 

Feast of the Nativity, 1892. 



COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 



Columbus the Catholic. 

No institution on earth can point to a 
longer line of illustrious children than the 
Roman Catholic Church. This has been 
demonstrated in nearly every great epoch 
in the world's history and in no one more 
pointedly than in the discovery, civilizing 
and Christianizing of the New World. The 
achievements of Christopher Columbus con- 
stitute one of the brightest pages in the 
history of progress and Catholicity. Faith 
is the corner-stone of the Church and no 
one possessed it in greater degree than 
this eminent son of the Church. A man 
of indomitable will and extraordinary firm- 
ness, his sublime faith and intense religious 

1 



2 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

zeal overshadowed all other characteristics 
and almost threw a halo of sanctity over 
his troubled life. He believed that he was 
an instrument in the hand of Heaven 
selected from among men for the accom- 
plishment of a great work. This he 
thought, not with pride, but with great 
humility of spirit and an all-pervading 
sense of responsibility. 

Jayme Ferrer, acknowledged as the 
most learned geographer in Spain, and a 
great admirer of Columbus, wrote to him 
saying: 

" I think I make no mistake, sir, in say- 
ing that you fill the office of an ambassador 
of Grod sent by Divine decrees to reveal 
His holy name to the lands still ignorant 
of the truth." 

Certain latter day authors have en- 
deavored to prove that Columbus was a 
very ordinary man, that although he suf- 
fered very much and had to contend with 
cruel hardships, these sufferings and hard- 
ships were naturally incidental to the life 
of such a man and finally, that if he had 
not made the discovery some other man — 



COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 3 

probably an ordinary man, too — would 
have done so. It is difficult to be patient 
with these literary Pharisees. They are 
of the class of people who see nothing but 
evil in this world and desperately shut 
their eyes to everything that is good. 
They would rob us of what little poetry 
there is in life and make all things as 
dull, dry and uninteresting as their own 
pedantic natures. Washington Irving had 
this class in mind when he exclaimed in a 
burst of righteous indignation : " There is 
a certain meddlesome spirit, which, in the 
garb of learned research, goes prying about 
the traces of history, casting down its monu- 
ments and marring and mutilating its fair- 
est trophies. Care should be taken to 
vindicate great names from such pernicious 
erudition. It defeats one of the most salu- 
tory purposes of history, that of furnishing 
examples of what human genius and lauda- 
ble enter23rise may accomplish." 

But happily these vandals cannot injure 
the name of Columbus. He has taken his 
place in history where he belongs and their 
most persistent efforts cannot belittle his 



4 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

fame nor obscure one ray of the glory 
that is his. 

Pope Leo XIII says of Columbus : 
" There are few who can be compared to 
him in greatness of soul and genius," ^ and 
later on, speaking of the religion that 
inspired Columbus and the reason Catho- 
lics should honor him especially, the Holy 
Father says : " It is that he is one of us. 
When one considers with what motives 
above all he undertook the plan of ex- 
ploring the dark sea and with what 
object he endeavored to realize this plan, 
one cannot doubt that the Catholic faith 
superlatively inspired the enterprise and 
its execution, so that by this title all 
humanity is not a little indebted to the 
Church.'' 

Alexander Humboldt, the historian, 
speaking of the Discoverer says : " He is a 
giant standing on the confines between 
mediaeval and modern times and his exis- 
tence marks one of the great epochs of the 
world." 

^ Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, on the Columbian centenary. 



COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 6 

From the best obtainable authorities it 
seems that Columbus was born in the city 
of Genoa, Italy, about the year 1435. Since 
his death six or seven cities have set forth 
claims to being his birthplace. C. K. 
Adams, President of Cornell University, 
ends a review on the birthplace controversy 
with the apt quotation : 

" Seven cities claimed the Homer dead 
In which the living Homer begged his bread." ^ 

At all events the best of the Columbus 
writers agree that^ Genoa was the place. 
The discoverer was the son of Dominico 
Columbus and Susanna Fontonarasso, peo- 
ple in moderate circumstances. There has 
been some controversy as to whether Col- 
umbus was or w^as not of noble birth. His 
son, Fernando, who was also his biographer 

^Adams' Columbus in Builders of America. 

^ The municipal government of Genoa has issued a limited 
number of solid silver medallions commemorative of the dis- 
covery. The face contains a bas-relief bust of Columbus, with 
two beautiful female figures representing Europe and America. 
The only medallion of the series known to be in this country is 
possessed by Father J. L. Andreis of St. Leo's Catholic Church, 
Baltimore. 



6 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

says : ^' I am of opinion that I should de- 
serve less dignity from any nobility of an- 
cestry than of being the son of such a 
father." Columbus was the eldest of four 
children and with them was carefully 
trained in the precepts of the Church. At 
an early age a longing for the sea developed 
and his education was directed with a view 
of fitting him for a maritime life. He re- 
ceived a good general training and was 
afterwards sent to the University of Pavia, 
at which place he made a special study of 
geometry, geography, astronomy and navi- 
gation. He entered on a nautical life at the 
age of fourteen and his first voyages were 
made with an uncle who commanded a 
naval expedition fitted out by John of An- 
jou in a struggle for the crown of Naples. 
Some years later Lisbon became the Mecca 
for adventurous seamen anxious to partici- 
pate in expeditions of daring. Thither 
Columbus repaired in 1470. Minute de- 
scriptions of the discoverer are given by his 
son Fernando, by LasCasas, Irving and 
others. According to these he was tall, 
well formed, muscular and of an elevated 



COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 7 

and dignitied demeanor. ^ Irving says his 
visage was long and neither full nor mea- 
gre ; his complexion fair and freckled, and 
inclined to be ruddy ; his nose aquiline ; 
his cheek bones rather high, his eyes light 
gray, and apt to enkindle ; his whole coun- 
tenance had an air of authority. His hair 
in his youthful days was of a light color, 
but care and trouble soon turned it grey 
and at thirty years of age it was quite white. 
He was moderate and simple in diet and 
apparel, eloquent in discourse, engaging 
and aifable with strangers and his amia- 
bility and suavity in domestic life strongly 
attached his household to his person. His 
temper was naturally irritable, but he sub- 
dued it by the magnanimity of his spirit, 
comporting himself with a courteous and 
gentle gravity and never indulging in any 
intemperance of language. Throughout his 
life he w^as noted for strict attention to the 
offices of religion, observing rigorously the 
fasts and ceremonies of the church ; nor did 
his piety consist in mere forms, but partook 

^ Irving' s Life and Voyages. 



8 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

of that lofty and solemn enthusiasm with 
which his whole character was tinctured. 

He was so strict in his religious prac- 
tices that it might be said that in fasting 
and reciting the whole canonical office he 
was more regular than a professed religious. 
His life shows that he had an especial devo- 
tion to our Lady and to the holy mendicant 
of Assisa.^ One of the religious exercises 
which he never omitted when he could help 
it was hearing Mass daily ; and while at 
Lisbon he attended Mass at the Convent 
of All Saints. 

It was here that he lirst met Dona Felipa, 
daughter of Bartholomeo Monis de Peres- 
trello an Italian cavalier. Friendship 
ripened into a tenderer feeling and a mar- 
riage of affection was the result. Through 
his wife's family Columbus came into the 
possession of numberless charts that aided 
him greatly in his after work. They were 
poor and the future discoverer supported 
himself and his wife by making charts and 
maps. History states that out of his meagre 

^ Life of Columbus, by F. Tarducci. 



COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 9 

funds he supported his aged father at Genoa 
and contributed to the education of his 
brothers. While making maps he began 
to study how much of the world was yet 
unknown and to ponder on the possible 
means of exploration. He finally became 
convinced that there were great undis- 
covered lands in the West. After many 
months of study his reasons for this 
thought were reduced to three heads. 
First, the nature of things ; second, the 
authority of learned writers ; third, the 
reports of navigators, 

'' When Columbus had formed his theory 
it became fixed in his mind with singular 
firmness, and influenced his entire charac- 
ter and conduct. He never spoke in doubt 
or hesitation but with as much certainty 
as if his eyes had already beheld the 
promised lands. No trial or disappoint- 
ment could divert him from the steady 
pursuit of his object. A deep religious 
sentiment mingled with his meditations 
and gave them at times a tinge of super- 
stition, but it was of a sublime and lofty 
kind. He read as he supposed his con- 



10 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

templated discovery foretold in Holy Writ, 
and shadowed forth darkly in the mystic 
revelations of the prophets. The ends of 
the earth were to be brought together 
under the banners of the Redeemer. This 
was to be the triumphant consummation of 
his enterprise, bringing the remote and 
unknown regions of the earth into com- 
munion with Christian Europe ; carrying 
the light of the true faith into benighted 
and pagan lands and gathering their count- 
less nations under the holy dominion of 
the church." ^ 

Several years elapsed without anything 
decisive being done. Columbus tried to 
interest the authorities of Genoa but with- 
out success. The King of Portugal sub- 
mitted the matter to a council which 
declared it ''not feasible," saying the 
King " already had sufficient undertak- 
ings of a certain advantage without engag- 
ing in others of a wild chimerical nature." 
In this connection the King made a most 
inglorious attempt to defraud Columbus of 

^ Irving's Life and Voyages. 



COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 11 

the fruits of his labor. The Navigator 
was requested to leave his maps, charts 
and explanations at the court for the con- 
sideration of the monarch. In the mean- 
time a caravel was fitted out and sent olF, 
ostensibly to carry provisions to the Cape 
de Verde Islands, but with private orders 
to pursue the route laid out by Columbus. 
After three days of stormy weather, the 
pilot, seeing nothing ahead but an endless 
waste of angry waters, lost courage and 
returned, ridiculing the project of Colum- 
bus as wild and extravagant. Columbus 
was rightly indignant at this royal trick, 
but was powerless to protest. 



\/^, 



II. 

At The Court of Spain. 

About this time, which embraced the 
most brilliant period in the history of the 
Spanish monarchy, Columbus resolved to 
seek his fortunes at the Court of Spain. 
Under the wise and prudent government 
of their Catholic Majesties, Ferdinand and 
Isabella, Spain was rapidly assuming the 
proportions and influence of a great nation. 
There is no difference of oj)inion regarding 
the ability of Ferdinand. According to one 
of his biographers he was " devout in his 
religion and indefatigable in business." 
This can be said of Isabella in still greater 
degree. " Isabella," ^ says Irving, " is one 
of the purest and most beautiful characters 
in the pages of history. She was well 
formed, of the middle size, with great 

^ Irving' s Life and Voyages. 

12 



AT THE COURl OF SPAIN. 13 

dignity and gracefulness of deportment and 
a mingled gravity and sweetness of de- 
meanor. Her complexion was fair ; her 
hair auburn inclining to red ; her eyes were 
of a clear blue with a bright expression and 
there was a singular modesty in her coun- 
tenance, gracing as it did, a wonderful firm- 
ness of purpose and earnestness of spirit. 
Though strongly attached to her husband 
and studious of his fame yet she always 
maintained her distinct rights as an allied 
prince. She exceeded him in beauty, in 
personal dignity, in acuteness of genius and 
in grandeur of soul. Combining the active 
and resolute qualities of man with the softer 
character of woman, she mingled in the 
warlike councils of her husband, engaged 
personally in his enterprises and in some 
instances surpassed him in the firmness 
and intrepidity of her measures ; while 
being inspired with a truer idea of glory, 
she infused a more lofty and generous tem- 
per into his subtle and calculatory policy." 
At that time in Spain religion and science 
went hand in hand. The Church was, as 
she always has been, the patron of art and 



14 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

learning. The chairs in the universities 
were filled, and ably filled too, by ecclesias- 
tics. Priests, Bishops and Cardinals direc- 
ted in a great measure the afi*airs of the 
State as they did of the Church. "It is 
even common," says Irving, "to find 
Bishops and Cardinals in helm and corselet 
at the head of armies ; for the crosier had 
been occasionally thrown by for the lance 
during the holy war against the Moors. 
The era was distinguished for the revival 
of learning, but still more for the preva- 
lence of religious zeal, and Spain surpassed 
all other countries of Christendom in the 
fervor of her devotion." 

Macauley, writing of this period, says of 
Catholic Spain : "After fighting Musselmen 
in the Old World, she began to fight 
heathens in the New. It was under the 
authority of a Papal bull that her children 
steered into unknown seas. It was under 
the standard of the cross that they marched 
fearlessly into the heart of great kingdoms." 

As Columbus was of a deeply religious 
turn of mind and as his main object in the 
contemplated discovery was to enlarge the 



AT THE CO VET OF SPAIN. 1 5 

domain of the Church, the conditions— 
religiously speaking— were auspicious. 

The fact, however, that the sovereigns 
were preparing for the Moorish war ren- 
dered them to a certain extent deaf to all 
other matters. It was about this time that 
Columbus married his second wife Beatrix 
Enriquez. 

The seeming indifference of the sovereigns 
did not deter Columbus. He was persistent 
and followed the court to Salamanca where 
he secured the ear of the celebrated Pedro 
Gonzalez de Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo 
and Grand Cardinal of Spain. Mendoza 
was a man of great learning and influence 
and through him Columbus was quickly 
admitted to the royal presence. Ferdinand 
was cold ; Isabella disposed to be friendly. 
The matter was finally referred to a council 
of the learned men of the kingdom. This 
council heard Columbus in the Dominican 
convent of St. Stephen at Salamanca. It 
was composed of professors of astronomy, 
geography, and mathematics, together with 
learned monks and various dignitaries of 
the Church. Columbus outlined his plans 



16 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

clearly, concisely and fervently. Objec- 
tions, scriptural and otherwise were hurled 
at him. He met them all bravely and 
while a majority of the learned men were 
against him he found several firm friends 
there, the most conspicuous being Diego de 
Deza a friar of the order of St. Dominic. 
This learned man was professor of theology 
in the Convent of St. Stephen and after- 
wards became Archbishop of Seville. The 
council was unable to agree, or rather did 
not make any report. The simple mariner 
who stood forth in the midst of this array 
of greatness came from the conference — in 
the opinion of many — a more important 
man than when he entered it. But still he 
was kept in suspense. The only thing cer- 
tain seemed delay. 

" The fabulous aspects of his career be- 
came almost incredible," ^ says Castelar. 
" Beholding how Columbus stored his mind 
with all the gathered knowledge of his day, 
how he urged before universities and 
learned men the indispensable adoption of 

^ In Century Magazine. 



A T THE CO UB T OF SPAIN. 1 7 

his plans, based in part on his personal 
conjectures and in part on his experience 
and his researches ; how in all that time of 
steadfast preparation he staked his hopes 
upon magnates, archbishops, monks and 
potent queens and kings ; how learning and 
calculation entered into his plans as much 
as intuition and genius, many pious souls 
professed to discover therein revelations 
such as God made of old to his prophets, 
and proposed to the Church his canoniza- 
tion. I attribute such exceptional treat- 
ment of Columbus to the fact that discove- 
ries and discoverers exert a potent influence 
upon the imagination ; and yet they hold a 
lesser place in popular history than states- 
men or warriors. How much more impor- 
tant would it be in our day to know who 
invented the flour mill than to know who 
won the battle of Arbela ! The fact is that, 
comparing the volumes devoted to state- 
craft and to war, with those treating of 
labor and industry, one is astounded and 
dismayed at the incredible disproportion. 
I can understand why this should have 
been so in ages when manual toil was con- 
2 



18 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

sidered degrading, and when trade, rele- 
gated to the common sort who were politi- 
cally debarred from coping with the patri- 
cian classes, was despised. But even in 
our day, transcendentl}^ the age of labor and 
of industry, while the names of great com- 
manders are borne on the world-wide wings 
of fame, those of discoverers fall with the 
utmost ease into ungrateful oblivion. For 
one Gralvani, one Franklin, one Daguerre, 
one Edison, who has spread his renown 
among all classes and stamped an inven- 
tion forever with his name, what a vast 
number of unremembered or unknown 
glories." 



III. 

At the Convent of La Rabida. 

Vexatious delays and disappointments 
had harassed the soul of Columbus, and 
filled with disgust he left Spain with a half- 
uttered vow never to return again. He 
was accompanied by his little son, and the 
two trudged along the dusty roads the per- 
sonification of distress. When within 
about a league from the old seaport of 
Palos, Columbus paused at the gate of the 
ancient convent dedicated to Santa Maria 
de Rabida, under the control of the Fran- 
ciscan fathers, and craved a little bread and 
water for the child. 

" The mysterious ordering of events en- 
countered in the life of Columbus is here 
plainly marked. Want and hunger drove 
him to knock at a gate for the alms of a 
little bread and the opening of the gate 
puts him on the road to the final accom- 

19 



20 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 

plishment of his desire — the crossing of the 
ocean and the discovery of a new world. 
Philosophers may here find ample matter 
for meditation on the strange vicissitudes 
to which man's life is subjected ; but the 
believer bows his head and adores, recog- 
nizing the hand of God which by unknown 
ways beyond all human counsel, reaches 
the end established in His inscrutable 
decrees." ^ 

The Prior of the convent, Juan Perez de 
Marchena, was struck with the appearance 
of Columbus and entering into conversation 
soon learned his story. The Prior was a 
man of great learning, piety and patriotism 
and his first thought was how to induce 
Columbus to reconsider his determination 
and return to Spain. The navigator was 
asked to remain as a guest at the convent. 
The Prior was impressed with the feasi- 
bility of the plan for the discovery, but first 
desired to have his judgment confirmed by 
some persons of more worldly experience. 
Accordingly, Dr. Fernandez, a physician of 
scientific knowledge, and Martin Alonzo 

* Tarducci's Life of Columbus. 



AT THE CONVENT OF LA RABID A. 21 

Pinzon, head of a family of wealthy naviga- 
tors were called in. It was this little coun- 
cil, seated in a sparsely furnished room in 
the ancient convent, that made the dis- 
covery of the new world a possibility. 
Before they separated each of the Coun- 
cilors was fully convinced of the practica- 
bility of the scheme. The worthy Friar 
had once been the Confessor of Queen 
Isabella and on the strength of this he 
wrote a letter imploring an audience. The 
Queen had made the good Friar her con- 
fessor on account of his sanctity and learn- 
ing. But the feasting and bustle of the 
city were not suited to his disposition and 
love of study and he returned to his humble 
duties as guardian of the monastery of La 
Rabida, where in his little cell in front of 
the ocean he indulged in the study of 
geography. The relation of Father Perez 
to the Queen still retained something of the 
confidential friendship of the confessor to 
the penitent, and Isabella retained for him 
the respect which a truly religious person 
feels for the director of his or her con- 
science ; especially when to the dignity of 



22 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

the office were joined such holiness of life 
and reputation of learning as Father Perez 
possessed. He was summoned to court at 
once and saddling his mule repaired to the 
city of Santa Fe where the sovereigns were 
overseeing the taking of the Capital of 
G-ranada. The Friar's appeal was enthu- 
siastic. With ardent fancy he told of the 
conquests which the Church of Christ would 
make among the millions living in the 
darkness of idolatry. The Queen was 
touched. She sent for Columbus, at the 
same time sending ample funds for his 
expenses. Columbus changed his thread- 
bare outfit for a garb more suited to the 
royal presence and started for Santa Fe. 
He arrived just in time to see the surrender 
of Granada and to behold the Cross uplifted 
in triumph over the Cresent. This specta- 
cle witnessed by Columbus is thus elo- 
quently described by Emilio Castelar, the 
famous Spanish statesman : ^ 

" Queen Isabella, having bidden farewell 
to the Moorish King and restored his child 
to him, waited without the Vega gate for 

^In Century Magazine. 



AT THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA. 23 

the appearance in the towers within of the 
silver cross borne by Cardinal Mendoza. 
The day wore on, and the silver crucifix, 
which was to crown and complete the story 
of seven centuries, was not yet displayed 
upon the heights of the Moorish palace. 
Isabella, who impatiently looked for its 
appearance, had found distraction from her 
thoughts in awaiting the coming of Boabdil 
and in her meeting with him. But when 
the Moorish King passed on, and nothing- 
remained to divert and occupy her mind, 
she began to glance eagerly at the towers 
and to be api^rehensive lest in that supreme 
moment some untoward mishap might have 
befallen the noble Cardinal. The Moors, 
who had thronged about in the early 
morning, filled with curiosity and the desire 
to see the marshalled hosts of the Christians 
and their gleaming armor, withdrew to their 
dwellings as to the silence of the tomb, 
when the emblazoned Cross entered beneath 
those wondrous oriental archways. Grra- 
nada seemed to be a deserted city in the 
forenoon of that miraculous and memorable 
day of deliverance. The hours passed, and 



24 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

the Cross shone not upon the Vermilion 
Towers. Isabella, in her impatience, began 
to fear that the terms of the capitulation 
had been violated, and that the Cardinal 
had perchance become the victim of some 
ambuscade. But at high noon, upon the 
great watch-tower called La Vela, the 
emblem of the Cross appeared in all its 
glory, shining like a day-star in rivalry 
with the dazzling sun ; and when they 
beheld it gleaming there, upon the greatest 
and loveliest stronghold of the Koran, illu- 
mined by the mystic light of innumerable 
martyrdoms, and surrounded by the souls 
of the countless heroes of so many genera- 
tions, all the soldiers and all the magnates, 
kings, princes, bishops and all beholders 
whose hearts throbbed with the Catholic 
Faith and with love for their Spanish 
fatherland, knelt upon the ground, with 
cross-folded arms, and to the mystic sound 
of trumpets and clarions, as to the tones of 
some vast organ, they intoned a devout 
" Te Deum," which rose, as it were, from 
the heart of the whole nation — a nation that 
for seven centuries had fought for the sacred 



AT THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA. 25 

prize of independence and unity, from 
Covadonga to Granada." 

This great event being at an end Colum- 
bus explained his project once again to the 
King and Queen. There was some hesita- 
tion on the part of the King. The nation 
had many other important enterprises on 
hard ; the various wars had sadly drained 
the royal treasury. These he pointed out 
with many other objections pertinent and 
otherwise. It was then that Isabella rose 
to her full height and filled with a noble 
resolve became the patroness for the dis- 
covery of the New World. 

" I will undertake the enterprise for my 
own crown of Castile," she exclaimed, " and 
will pledge my jewels to raise the necessary 
funds." Columbus had started off again 
but was quickly recalled and informed of 
the Queen's resolve. Filled with great 
joy he drew up papers of agreement to be 
signed by the sovereigns. In substance 
they were as follows : 

1. That Columbus shall have, for him- 
self during his life, and his heirs and 
successors forever, the office of Admiral 



26 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

in all the lands and continents, which he 
might discover or acquire in the ocean, 
with similar honors and prerogatives to 
those enjoyed by the High Admiral of 
Castile in his district. 

2. That he should be Viceroy and Grov- 
ernor-Greneral over all the said lands and 
continents ; with the privilege of nominat- 
ing three candidates for the government of 
each island and province, one of whom 
should be selected by the sovereigns. 

3. That he should be entitled to receive 
for himself one-tenth of all pearls, precious 
stones, gold, silver and all other articles and 
merchandise in whatever manner found, 
bartered or gained within his admiralty, 
the costs being first deducted. 

4. That he or his lieutenant should be 
the sole judge in all causes and disputes 
arising out of traffic in these countries 
and Spain, provided the High Admiral 
of Castile had similar jurisdiction in his 
district. 

5. That he might then, and at all times 
after, contribute an eighth part of the 
expense, in fitting out vessels to sail on 



AT TBE CONVENT OF LA HABIDA. 27 

this enterprise, and receive an eighth part 
of the profits. 

The last clause was specially insisted 
upon by Columbus, because of the intima- 
tion in some quarters that he demanded 
excessive emoluments, while incurring no 
expense. This agreement was signed by 
Ferdinand and Isabella in the city of 
Santa Fe, on the 17th of April, 1492, 
and the port of Palos was fixed upon as 
the place where the fleet should be fitted 
out. The elevated and noble purposes of 
Columbus shone out conspicuously at this 
time. He showed plainly and conclusively 
that his main purpose in making the voy- 
age, or rather that the zeal that urged him 
on in the face of numberless obstacles, was 
enkindled by a desire to propagate the 
Christian faith and to extend the domains 
of the Holy Catholic Church. To do this 
meant to save souls and the mind of Col- 
umbus was filled with bliss at the thought 
of effecting such a great work of salvation. 
The pious zeal of the great discoverer did 
not stop at this. He appeared before the 
sovereigns and ventured to make the sug- 



28 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

gestion that the limitless wealth accruing 
from the discovery of the New World 
should be blessed and consecrated to the 
rescuing of the Holy Sepulchre from the 
power of the Infidels. Thus, in the hour 
of his preliminary triumph, did Columbus 
lovingly offer the fruits of his labor for the 
good of the Church. Truly he was the 
worthy son of a precious mother. 



IV. 

The Depakture from Palos. 

It having been decided that the expedi- 
tion should start from Palos, Columbus 
repaired to that place. On his arrival he 
once more became the guest of Juan Perez. 
The following Sunday, May 23, 1492, Col- 
umbus, accompanied by the friar proceeded 
to the Church of St. George, in Palos. 
Here the royal order was read by a notary. 
It commanded the authorities of Palos to 
have two caravels ready for sea within ten 
days and to place them and their crews at 
the disposal of Columbus. The latter was 
also empowered to procure and fit out a 
third vessel. Palos had given some offense 
to the crown and in consequence had been 
mulcted in the service of two armed cara- 
vels for the period of twelve months. It 
was directed that the seamen should receive 
the usual wages of those serving in armed 

29 



30 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

vessels and be paid four months in advance. 
Criminal processes were suspended against 
anybody engaged for the voyage, the sus- 
pension to last for two months after the 
return of the expedition. The royal order 
met with general disfavor. No one cared 
to undertake such a hazardous and appa- 
rently visionary voyage. A few prisoners 
from the jails consented to go but the gen- 
eral reluctance was so great that a new 
order had to be issued on June 20 com- 
manding the impressment of the crews and 
vessels. Success was finally made possible 
by the aid of the Pinzons. But all told it 
was a motley crew. It was with such ma- 
terial that Columbus had to do the work on 
which he had staked life, fortune and repu- 
tation. In three months the expedition 
was ready to sail. It was composed of the 
Santa Maria, a decked vessel, and two cara- 
vels or undecked boats, the Pinta and Nina. 
The Santa Maria was of ninety foot keel ; 
it had three masts, of which two were 
square-rigged and one fitted with lateen 
sails. It was decked from stem to stern, 
having besides a poop twenty-six feet in 



THE DEPARTURE FROM PALOS. 31 

length, beneath which was the armament 
of heavy guns, with small pieces forward, 
for throwing stones and grape. It was 
commanded by the Admiral in person, and 
carried a crew of fifty men, of whom the 
muster-roll mentions one Englishman and 
one Irishman. The Pinta, under Martin 
Pinzon, carried thirty men, and the Kina, 
under his brother, Vincente Yanez, had 
twenty-four. Three other pilots were at- 
tached to the expedition, together with an 
inspector general of the fleet, and a royal 
notary. There were also a surgeon, a 
physician, some few adventurers and ninety 
seamen— in all one hundred and twenty 
souls who put their lives into the hands of 
the dauntless Admiral. 

The general of the Order of Mercy for 
the Redemption of Captives, sent one of 
his priests. Father Solorzano, as chaplain 
of the fleet. Thus was opened a vast field 
for the labor of zealous missionaries, who 
would compensate the Church to some 
extent for her losses in the Old World by 
the gains they would make in the new.^ 

^ Mgr. Seton, in Propagator of the Faith, 



32 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

Captain Duro/ of the Spanish Navy, has 
investigated all questions relating to the 
ships of the Columbian period and their 
equipment with great care, and the learn- 
ing he has brought to bear upon the sub- 
ject has produced very interesting results. 
According to this authority the two small 
caravels provided for the voyage of Colum- 
bus by the town of Palos were only partially 
decked. The Pinta was strongly built, and 
was originally lateen-rigged on all three 
masts, and she was the fastest sailer in the 
expedition ; but she was only 50 tons bur- 
den, with a complement of eighteen men. 
The Nina, so-called after the Nino family 
of Palos, who owned her, was still smaller, 
being only 40 tons. The third vessel was 
much larger, and did not belong to Palos. 
She was called a " nao," or ship, and was 
of about 100 tons burden, completely 
decked, with a high poop and forecastle. 
Her length has been variously estimated. 
Two of her masts had square sails, the 
mizzen being lateen-rigged. 

^ Clements Markham, in Nature. 



THE DEPARTURE FROM PALOS. 33 

That Columbus had a just sense of the 
importance of literature is evident from 
the fact that the expedition included a 
historian. There was an interpreter who 
knew Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and 
Armenian; a man of most remarkable 
learning. Science was represented by a 
metallurgist. The natural interest that 
must be felt in the vessels of Columbus 
may be satisfied by the following from 
Emilio Castelarr^ "With my own^'eyes I 
have seen in the Columbian Library at 
Seville the caravels of Columbus admira- 
bly portrayed. The discoverer himself 
has sketched them faithfully, with the 
steady hand long trained by his trade of 
map drawing. They are found traced in 
the first decade of Angleria's treatise, 
which is preserved as one of the price- 
less books of Ferdinand, the second son 
of Columbus. The disproportion of size 
between the ships at once strikes the eye, 
and therewithal the very great diversity of 
rig. The Santa Maria had the advantage 

^ In Century Magazine. 

3 



34 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

of her consorts in build and size. Her 
rigging aj^peared more complicated than 
the others. Square sails were on the fore 
and main masts, a lateen yard on the 
mizzen. The contrast in the height of 
the prow and the pooj) was startling. The 
Pinta was shown in the sketch as a sort of 
compromise between the S^nta Maria and 
the Nina, but sparred and tackled more 
like the former. The Mna looked very 
like the modern fishing and trading lug- 
gers, while her lateen sails recalled those 
nimble skiffs, so common in the waters of 
the Mediterranean, whose white sails, 
bathed in the rays of the Southern sun, 
show gaily between blue sea and bluer sky 
like gulls skimming over the softly rippling 
surface." 

The solemnity of confession and commu- 
nion was performed for the departing com- 
pany by Pere Juan Perez. It was, indeed, 
a great occasion for Columbus. His patient 
struggles of twenty years, filled with rebuffs 
and bitter disappointments, had at last 
borne fruit, and the man knew that his fame 



THE DEPARTURE FROM PALOS. 35 

and his fortune were to be made or lost for- 
ever before the year ended. 

On the morning of August 3d, toward 
3 o'clock, Columbus, who was staying at 
the convent, was awakened by the noise of 
a wind, which he knew to be the one which 
should take his ships to sea. The fact that 
the day was Friday, in the mind of so de- 
voted a Christian, was only a presage of 
good fortune. It was the day of the re- 
demption ; of the deliverance of the Holy 
Sepulchre by Grodfrey de Bouillon ; of the 
surrender of Grranada and the fall of Mo- 
hammedan power in Spain. An odd coin- 
cidence of events and days shows that Col- 
umbus started on his great expedition on 
Friday ; commenced his return voyage on 
Friday, and on Friday reached the port of 
Palos after his long absence. Columbus 
went to the cell of a Franciscan, who soon 
called an assistant to light the candles on 
the altar and prepare for the mass. While 
the Franciscan community slept, Columbus 
entered the chapel alone and received the 
sacrament from the priest. Then, accom- 
panied by Pere Juan Perez, he noiselessly 



36 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

left the convent, and the two proceeded in 
silence along the fragrant declivity which 
led from the convent to the village. When 
they api)eared on the shore they w^ere hailed 
by the boat of the Santa Maria. The noise 
woke the people in the neighboring houses. 
Windows and doors were opened, and 
mothers, wives and children ran weeping 
to the shore. The sailors waved their 
adieus, and Columbus, after pressing the 
weeping Franciscan to his heart, threw 
himself into the boat, which was rowed to 
his ship. On the Santa Maria the stan- 
dard was raised, which was the standard of 
the Cross. It carried the picture of the 
Saviour nailed to the tree. From the masts 
of the Pinta and the ]N"ina, however, floated 
only the banner of the expedition, a green 
cross between the royal initials, surmounted 
by a crown. Columbus, standing high, 
waved his adieus to the shore, and, with a 
voice that dominated the scene, in the name 
of Christ commanded the sails to be spread. 
Half an hour later the sun rose. The ships 
were quickly hid from the sight of the vil- 
lage people by a turn in the river, but from 



THE DEPARTURE FROM PALOS. 37 

the terrace of the Convent of La Rabida | 

the monks of St. Francis were able to watch i 

the three ships dwindling in the distance ; 
upon the bosom, vast and blue, of the 

Atlantic, and to send after them their i 

prayers and benedictions.^ i 



Rossellj de Lorgues. 



V. 
Discovery of the JSTew World. 

After Columbus was fairly at sea there 
was a profound calm that lasted for three 
days. In the face of this it was all the 
Admiral could do to keep the men at work. 
In losing sight of land they lost heart and 
the majority not possessing a superabun- 
dance of moral heroism begun to have 
gloomy forebodings. When Columbus 
started out he begun to keep a journal 
which was faithfully continued until the 
end of the voyage. It was addressed to 
the King and Queen and the introduction 
was as follows : 

" In nomine D. JN". Jesu Christi. Whereas 
most Christian, most high, most excellent 
and most powerful princes. King and Queen 
of the Spains, and of the islands of the sea, 
our Sovereigns, in the present year of 1492, 
after your highnesses had put an end to the 
38 



DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 39 

war with the Moors who ruled in Europe, 
and had concluded that warfare in the great 
city of Granada, where, on the second of 
January of this present year, I saw the 
royal banners of your highnesses placed by 
force of arms on the towers of the Alhambra, 
which is the fortress of that city, and beheld 
the Moorish King sally forth from the gates 
of the city, and kiss the royal hands of your 
highnesses and of my lord the Prince ; and 
immediately in the same month, in conse- 
quence of the information, which I had 
given to your highnesses of the lands of 
India, and of a prince who is called the 
Grand Khan which is to say in our langu- 
age. King of Kings ; how that many times 
he and his predecessors had sent to Rome 
to entreat for doctors of our holy faith to 
instruct him in the same, and that the Holy 
Father had never provided him with them, 
and thus, so many people were lost, believ- 
ing in idolatries, and imbibing doctrines ol 
perdition, and therefore your highnesses, as 
Catholic princes and Christians, lovers and 
promoters of the holy Christian faith and 
enemies of the sect of Mahomet and of all 



40 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

idolatries and heresies determined to send 
me, Christopher Columbus to the said parts 
of India, to see the said princes, and the 
people and lands and to discover the nature 
and disposition of them all, and the means 
to be taken for the conversion of them to 
our holy faith ; and ordered that I should 
not go by land to the East, by which it is a 
custom to go, but by a voyage to the West, 
by which course, unto the present time, we 
do not know for certain that anyone hath 
passed. 

"Your highnesses, therefore, after having 
expelled all the Jews from your kingdoms 
and territories, commanded me, in the same 
month of January, to proceed with a suffi- 
cient armament to the said parts of India, 
and for this purpose bestowed great favors 
upon me, ennobling me, that thence for- 
ward, I might style myself Don, appointing 
me High Admiral of the ocean sea, and 
perpetual Viceroy and Governor of all the 
islands and continents I should discover 
and gain and which henceforward may be 
discovered and gained in the ocean sea; 
and that my eldest son should succeed me 



DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 41 

and so on from generation to generation 
forever. I departed therefore from the city 
of Granada, on Saturday the twelfth of May 
of the same year 1492 to Palos, a seaport, 
where I armed three ships, well calculated 
for such service, and sailed from that port, 
well furnished with provisions and with 
many seamen, on Friday, the third of 
August of the same year, half an hour 
before sunrise and took the route for the 
Canary Islands of your highnesses, to steer 
my course thence, and navigate until I 
should arrive at the Indies and deliver the 
embassy of your highnesses to those princes 
and accomplish that which you had com- 
manded. For this purpose I intend to 
write during this voyage, very punctually 
from day to day, all that I may do and see, 
and experience as will hereafter be seen. 
Also, my sovereign princes, beside describ- 
ing each night, all that has occurred in the 
day, and in the day the navigation of the 
night, I propose to make a chart in which 
I will set down the waters and lands of the 
ocean and sea in their proper situations 
under their bearings ; and further, to com- 



42 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

130se a book, and illustrate the whole in 
picture by latitude from the equinoctial, 
and longitude from the West; and upon 
the whole it will be essential that I should 
forget sleep and attend closely to the navi- 
gation to accomplish these things, which 
will be a great labor." In this manner did 
the Navigator set forth the objects of his 
momentous journey. 

It is needless to go into all the petty 
vexations that Columbus was subjected to 
on this eventful and perilous voyage. Suf- 
fice it to say that his marvellous firmness 
and his gift of adapting himself to circum- 
stances enabled him to overcome them all. 
On the 14th of September, 1492, the first 
harbingers of land made their appearance 
in the shape of tropical birds that hovered 
about the ships. The greatest excitement 
prevailed. The sovereigns had promised a 
reward in the form of a pension to the man 
who should first see land and as a conse- 
quence intense rivalry prevailed among the 
crew. On the 25th of September Martin 
Alonzo Pinzon who was in the stern of his 
vessel exclaimed : 



DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 43 

"Land! Land! Senor, I claim my 
reward." 

He was greatly agitated and pointed to 
the Southwest, where about twenty-five 
leagues distant, there was the appearance 
of land. On seeing this Columbus fell upon 
his knees and fervently returned thanks 
to Grod while Pinzon still greatly excited 
recited the " Grloria in Excelsis " in which 
he was joined by his crew. The report, 
however, proved to be a false alarm, 
for after several days' sailing, there was 
still no sight of actual land. After that 
the sailors were continually giving the 
cry of land and just as continually being 
disappointed. 

It was the invariable custom on board 
the Admiral's ship for the mariners to join 
in singing the " Salve Regina " at sundown. 
This was done with special impressiveness, 
on the evening of October the 7th. Col- 
umbus joined in with a will and the 
strong male voices rang out v/ith great 
solemnity on the boundless expanse of 
waters as they sang: 



44 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

Salve Kegina, unto thee 

Whose ear is open to the prayer 
Of all that in humility 

Of spirit claim thy care ; 
We, wanderers of the pathless deep 

From hope of earthly succor far, 
Pray that for us thou watch wilt keep 

And be our guiding star. 

Salve Kegina, mother blest ! 

To Him who hath in slumber lain 
A helpless babe, upon thy breast 

Thou can'st not plead in vain ; 
Then pray for us, that when of life 

The weary voyage shall be past. 
We may escap'd from storm and strife 

Safe moor in Heaven at last. 



Some lines in the journal of Columbus 
indicate that the crew sang the beautiful 
hymn of the Church called the " Star of 
the Sea." It is probable that they sang 
both. The words of the latter were very 
appropriate : 

Bright Mother of our Maker, hail ! 

Thou Virgin ever blest 
The ocean's star, by which we sail. 

And gain the Port of rest. 

Whilst we this Hail do thus to thee 
From GabrieUs mouth rehearse ; 

Prevail that peace our lot may be, 
And Eva's name reverse. 



DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 45 

The time and the hour had almost 
arrived, and Columbus knew it. He made 
a most impressive address to the crew, 
reminding them of the goodness of God in 
conducting them with safety through so 
many miles of strange waters. He thought 
it very probable that they would make land 
th?t very night ; at least not later than the 
next morning. He ordered a sharp lookout 
to be kept from all quarters and himself 
maintained an unremitting vigil from the 
top of the cabin of the Santa Maria. 

At precisely 2 o'clock the next morning 
the loud report of a gun from the Pinta 
proclaimed the joyful tidings of land. It 
was on Friday, October the 12th, that the 
little band first beheld the New World. 
As day dawned they were enabled to get a 
better view of the country. It was a level 
island, covered with trees, and although 
uncultivated seemed to be well populated. 
Scores of perfectly naked inhabitants were 
seen issuing from the woods and running 
towards the shore. The small boats being 
launched, Columbus, richly attired, entered 
his own holding aloft the royal standard. 



46 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

The Pinzons entered their boats each hold- 
ing a banner containing a green cross and 
the initials of the Castilian monarchs sur- 
mounted with a crown. 

Columbus, beaming with gladness and 
mute with delight, stepped on the shore 
with the elastic ardor of youth. Scarcely 
had he touched the new land than he sig- 
nificantl}^ planted in it the standard of the 
cross. Unable to contain his gratitude he 
prostrated himself in adoration before the 
Supreme Author of the discovery. Three 
times bowing his head, he kissed with 
streaming eyes the soil to which he was 
conducted by the Divine Groodness, all 
those who accompanied him, participating 
in his emotions and kneeling as he did, 
elevated a crucifix in the air. Raising his 
grateful hands and thanking from the 
bottom of his heart his Heavenly Father, 
Columbus found in the effusions of his 
loving gratitude, an admirable prayer, the 
first accents of which are preserved by 
history : " Lord Eternal and Almighty 
God , who by Thy sacred word hast created 
the heavens, the earth and the seas, may 



DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 47 

Thy name be blessed and glorified forever. 
May Thy majesty be exalted who hast 
deigned to permit that, by Thy humble 
servant, Thy sacred name should be made 
known and preserved in this other part of 
the world." ^ 

His gratitude and piety found utterance 
in sublime expressions. Then standing up 
with majesty and displaying the standard 
of the cross, he offered up to Jesus Christ, 
the first fruits of his discovery. In order 
to give glory to God who had shown it to 
him, after having protected him from so 
many perils, he gave the island the name 
of San Salvador, which means " Holy 
Saviour." 

When the ceremony of taking possession 
was over, Columbus caused two large pieces 
of wood to be cut and making a rude cross, 
raised it on the same spot where the royal 
banner had been planted as he said, " To 
leave a sign that possession of that land 
had been taken in the name of Christ." He 
did the same ever after in every land he 
discovered, whether large or small, leaving 

^ Kosselly de Lorgues. 



48 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

everywhere the sign of Redemption, as in a 
place that had come under the domination 
of the Catholic religion. The joy of Col- 
umbus also found expression on paper, as 
the following denotes : 

" Let then the King and Queen, the 
Princes and their happy kingdoms unite 
with all Christendom in returning thanks 
to our Saviour Jesus Christ for granting us 
such victorious success. Let them make 
processions, celebrate solemn festivities and 
ornament the temples with flowers and 
palms ; and let Christ exult with joy on 
earth as in Heaven, at the prospect of sal- 
vation for so many nations heretofore 
destined only to perdition."^ 

The spot where Columbus first landed in 
the New World is the eastern end of the 
south side of Watling Island. This has 
been established by the arguments of Major 
and by the calculations of Murdoch beyond 
all controversy. The evidence is over- 
whelming. Watling Island answers to 
every requirement and every test, whether 
based on the Admiral's description of the 

^ Extract from the Journal of Columbus. 



DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD. 49 

island itself, on the courses and distances 
thence to Cuba, or on the evidence of early 
maps. ^ We have thus reached a final and 
satisfactory conclusion, and we can look 
back on that momentous event in the 
world's history with the certainty that we 
know the exact spot on which it occurred — 
on which Columbus touched the land when 
he sprang from his boat, the standard 
waving over his head, the emblem of his 
faith in his hand, crying with that ardor 
and religious enthusiasm his soul pos- 
sessed: " I take possession of these lands in 
the name of Jesus Christ and their Catholic 
Majesties, the King and Queen of Spain." 



' Clements Markham, in Nature. 

4 



VI. 

Columbus at Barcelona. 

Columbus continued his explorations and 
a day or two later discovered another Island 
which he called Santa Maria de la Concep- 
tion in honor of the Immaculate Conception 
of the Blesssd Virgin. The devotion of 
Columbus to the mother of God was one of 
the conspicuous traits in his deeply religious 
character. For this reason a special fond- 
ness for the Island of Conception seemed to 
take possession of him. He lingered here 
longer than anywhere else, and one of his 
earliest acts was the erection of a large 
cross in the centre of the island. 

He desired to consecrate this place by the 
erection of a church in which three Masses 
were to be celebrated daily ; the first in 
honor of the Blessed Trinity ; the second in 
honor of the Immaculate Conception, and 
the third for the faithful departed. One 
50 



COLUMBUS AT BARCELONA. 51 

day the aid of the cross erected by Colum- 
bus, being invoked with a sincere faith 
wrought a miracle.' Those who had fevers 
were cured by touching it. Its fame spread 
and the Indians determined to destroy it. 
They came to it in large force and tried 
with all their might to pull it down. The 
cross remained unmovable, defying their 
strength. Mortified at this failure, they 
tried to destroy it by fire. Having collected 
a lot of dry brush-wood they came at night 
and surrounding the cross with the in- 
flammable fagots to a considerable height, 
set fire to them. The fire burned with great 
force. The cross soon disappeared in the 
flames and smoke. The idolaters went 
away satisfied, but the next morning they 
perceived the cross, subsisting entire and 
perfectly preserved amid the smoking 
cinders. Its natural color was not even 
altered, except that at the foot there 
appeared a little dark spot as if some one 
had approached it with a lighted candle. 
After a cruise among the Bahama Islands 
and the discovery and coasting of Cuba and 

^ Rosselly de Lorgues. 



52 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

Hispaniola, Columbus, on the 4th of June, 
1493, set sail for Spain. The voyagers had 
only been out to sea a few days when an 
awful storm arose. Human skill was com- 
pletely baffled, and the lives of all on board 
seemed to be in imminent danger. In the 
midst of all this, while many of his com- 
panions were panic-stricken with terror, 
Columbus stood out brave, noble and digni- 
fied. His pious training asserted itself. A 
carefully prepared account of his voyage 
and discoveries addressed to the Spanish 
rulers was placed in a cake of wax and this 
in turn placed in a barrel and cast on the 
waters. Then after the performance of 
appropriate acts of devotion, Columbus 
ordered a number of beans to be placed in 
a cap. One of them was cut with the sign 
of the cross. Each man made a vow that 
should he draw the marked bean, he would 
on his return to Spain make a pilgrimage 
to the Shrine of Santa Maria de Gaudalope, 
bearing a wax taper of five pounds. The 
lot fell to Columbus. The same perform- 
ance was gone through again, this time lots 
being cast for a pilgrimage to the Chapel 



COLUMBUS AT BARCELONA. 53 

of Our Lady of Loretto. This time it fell 
to a seaman named Pedro de Valla. The 
third time the drawing was for a pilgri- 
mage to Santa Clair de Moguer for the 
purpose of hearing a solemn Mass and 
watching all night in the chapel. This also 
fell to Columbus. It is needless to say that 
all these devotions were afterwards per- 
formed with scrupulous exactness. 

The storm abated finally and after some 
weeks of clear sailing the crew arrived at 
the Island of St. Mary's, a possession of 
the crown of Portugal. Here the Admiral 
reminded his men of a vow they had made 
to perform a pious procession at their first 
landing. There was a chapel on the island 
dedicated to the Virgin and a couple of 
messengers succeeded in finding a priest 
who consented to say Mass. One half of 
the crew landing, walked barefooted and 
bareheaded to the chapel while the Admiral 
remained on the vessel, waiting to do the 
same with the other half. An incident 
occurred though that somewhat marred the 
solemnity of the occasion. The sailors were 
surrounded by a crowd of officials, seized 



64 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

and thrown into jail. This outrage was 
performed at the instigation of a number 
of men high in position at the Court of 
Portugal, who thought that the fruits of 
Columbus' voyages might thus be forcibly 
wrested from him and placed to the credit 
of the Portuguese crown. They recognized 
the weakness of their position, though, as 
soon as the outrage had been perpetrated 
and the sailors were almost immediately 
released with profuse and hypocritical pro- 
fessions of regret at the " mistake " that 
had occurred. 

Before leaving the country Columbus, 
out of courtesy, called on the King of Por- 
tugal, by whom he was received with high 
honors. The discoverer received a great 
ovation at the port of Palos. He did not 
linger here but proceeding at once to Bar- 
celona where the sovereigns were in grand 
state. This was in the middle of April. 
The town was in a fever heat of excitement 
and Columbus was fairly covered with ex- 
travagant praise and admiration. Men in 
high place who had once scoffed at his ideas 
now claimed him as a brother and for the 



COL UMB US AT BABCEL ON A, 65 

time being constituted themselves his spe- 
cial patrons. Thus does the world go round. 
Truly nothing succeeds like success. 

A procession formed. First came the 
half-naked Indians, painted in fantastic 
fashion, their head-gear filled with feathers, 
strings of beads about their necks and 
bracelets upon their wrists. Then came 
some members of the crew, sharing in the 
honors bestowed on Columbus, and carry- 
ing various kinds of live parrots, stuffed 
birds, rare plants, Indian bracelets, coro- 
nets and other trophies of their marvellous 
voyage. Columbus, richly attired for the 
occasion, brought up the rear on horseback 
and surrounded by a cavalcade of the 
noblest youth in Spain. The pageant un- 
doubtedly created a great sensation. It 
would be idle to presume that Columbus 
was not pleased and affected at this. He 
had been looked upon as an adventurer and 
as a wild dreamer and being human, Avas 
naturally anxious to dissipate this idea and 
to secure the confidence of an ever-fickle 
public. 

Columbus when ushered into the presence 
of the King and Queen was received with 



56 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

great distinction. He made a movement 
as if to kneel before them but they arose 
and as is customary in receiving a person 
of high rank, ordered him to seat himself 
in their presence. This was a rare honor, 
indeed, at this proud and chivalrous court. 
Columbus then in eloquent but simple 
words depicted the story of the voyage from 
the time of leaving Palos until the return to 
Spain. The sovereigns listened with rapt 
attention, and at its close praised Grod for 
his mercy and goodness. The Te Deum 
was sung and there was general rejoicing. 
These were the sunniest days in the life 
of Columbus. He was treated with much 
distinction wherever he went, and was uni- 
versally hailed as the great benefactor of 
Spain. JVext to the countenance shown him 
by the King and Queen, may be mentioned 
that of Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, the 
Grand Cardinal of Spain, and first subject 
of the realm; a man whose elevated char- 
acter for piety, learning and high prince- 
like qualities gave signal value to his favors. 
He invited Columbus to a banquet, where 
he assigned him the most honorable place 



COLUMBUS AT BARCELONA. 57 

at table, and had him served with the 
ceremonials which in those punctilious days 
were observed towards sovereigns. At this 
repast is said to have occurred the well- 
known anecdote of the egg. A shallow 
courtier present, impatient of the honors 
paid Columbus, and meanly jealous of him 
as a foreigner, abruptly asked him whether 
he thought that, in case he had not discov- 
ered the Indies, there were not other men 
in Spain who would have been capable of 
the enterprise. To this Columbus made no 
immediate reply, but taking an egg^ in- 
vited the company to make it stand on one 
end. Everyone attempted it, but in vain ; 
whereupon he struck it upon the table, so 
as to break the end, and left it standing on 
the broken part ; illustrating in this simple 
manner that when he had once shown the 
way to the T*^ew World, nothing was easier 
than to follow it.^ 

^This story of the Qgg is told by Benzoni, the Italian histo- 
rian, but is disputed by several writers. Indeed, some of the 
more pious ones regard it as too frivolous for use in a serious 
story of Columbus, but as they consider it of enough importance 
to controvert, it is deemed of sufficient interest for reproduction 
in the present work. 



VII. 

The Church in the New World. 

The most important step taken by the 
Spanish sovereigns at this time was the ob- 
taining of the sanction of Pope Alexander 
YI to what had been accomplished by 
Columbus. His Holiness at this time issued 
the celebrated papal Bull of partition, defin- 
ing the territories belonging to Spain and 
Portugal. The King of Portugal was not 
satisfied with this, claiming that it en- 
croached on ground that had been set aside 
for Portuguese discoveries. A protest was 
therefore sent to Sj^ain. 

At the same time that Portugal sent 
her protest to Spain, she exerted all her 
influence at Rome to have the Bull either 
withdrawn or suspended. The Pope re- 
mained unmoved ; or rather, under date 
of September 26^ 1494, published another 
Bull, not only confirming the rights settled 
58 



THE CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD. 59 

in the first, but still further extending 
them — hence the last is called the Bull of 
Extension. Spain and Portugal then by 
mutual agreement resolved to move the 
Pope's line to the west. The matter was 
little thought of then, but later discoveries 
show that the Pope's line cut the entire 
terrestrial globe from pole to pole with 
marvelous precision, without even touching 
land ; thus assigning the entire New World 
to Spain, but depriving it of the immense 
region now known as Brazil.^ 

Whilst Columbus lingered in Spain, six 
Indians, after being duly instructed in 
Christian doctrine, or rather in the funda- 
mental beliefs of the faith, were baptized 
with great pomp and ceremony. They 
were the first inhabitants of the New World 
that received the sacrament of Baptism, 
the King, Queen and Prince Juan being 
the sponsors. Thus was the Church in 
America begun. 

Columbus started on his second voyage 
filled with renewed hope and courage. As 
has been said, he was very devout to the 

^ Francesco Tarducci's Life of Columbus. 



60 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

Virgin Mary, and placed his voyages under 
her special protection. On arriving once 
more in the JSTew World, he founded the 
city of Isabella.^ It was about this time 
that the first substantial steps towards lay- 
ing the foundation of the Church in the 
New World were taken. A Pontifical 
brief from Rome nominated a Yicar Apos- 
tolic for the Indies. The dignity was 
conferred on Father Bernard Boil, of the 
order of St. Francis. Twelve other religious 
of different orders were assigned him as 
companions to aid in the work of converting 
the tribes of the New World to the True 
Faith. The devout Isabella reserved for 
herself the consolation of providing the 
sacred ornaments and vessels for the service 

^ A movement, first broached by Mr. Thomas H. Cummings, 
of Boston, and taken up by the Sacred Heart Keview of that 
city, to erect a monument to Columbus on the site of his first 
settlement in the New World, at Isabella, in Santo Domingo, 
has progressed so far that the statue is being modeled. It is 
proposed to erect the monument at Isabella over the site of the 
first Catholic church in the New World. In view of the increas- 
ing interest in the matter it is hoped to make the monument 
worthy of the event celebrated, and to have a colossal statue in 
bronze, the cost of which will be about $10,000. This monu- 
ment is intended to mark the starting point of Christian 
civilization in America. 



THE CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD. 61 

of the first church that should be raised in 
the JN'ew World. Accordingly, one of the 
vessels that sailed on the second voyage of 
discovery with Columbus carried all that 
was required for religious purposes in the 
way of vestments, chalices and altar orna- 
ments. Thus did the pious Catholic Queen 
show herself worthy of the ancient faith. 
It is interesting to know that an offering 
of the first gold from the New World was 
made by Isabella to Pope Alexander VI, 
who applied it to cover the cedar wood 
ceiling of the ancient Basilica of St. Mary 
Major at Rome. 

"I have been highly rejoiced," said a 
correspondent in Rome to the Catholic 
Sentinel recently, " in making what the 
learned world would call an important 
discovery. Some Pontifical documents re- 
garding Christianity in America before 
Columbus are published and known ; but 
the very first Papal bull that was ever 
issued in direct regard to religion in the 
West Indies, after the memorable event 
whose centenary we celebrate this year, has 
remained to this day buried in the dust of 



62 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

the Vatican archives. I had the good for- 
tune to first lay my finger on it. It is the 
Bull of Alexander VI, who sends to the 
newly-discovered lands the Franciscan 
friar, Bernard Boil, together with twelve 
other priests, secular and regular, to con- 
vert to Christianity the savage tribes that 
were suffering under the yoke of actual 
spiritism or degrading devilism. The 
Pontiff grants all necessary and useful 
faculties to this first American vicar apos- 
tolic, for himself, his companions and for 
the people that may cross the Atlantic to 
contribute toward making of America a 
Catholic country. The document is of im- 
portance in several respects. It settles the 
question, long debated by Wadding and 
other learned men, to what religious order 
the Right Reverend Boil did belong; it 
indicates the moral worth of the first 
American pioneers of the Cross, and it 
affords one of the proofs of the pious 
zeal for the propagation of the faith and 
civiization which animated a slandered 
Pontiff. The Bull is dated from Rome, 
June 2b^ 1493, and is recorded in the 



THE CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD. 63 

register 777, folio 122, of the Vatican 
secret archives." 

The zealous missionaries found them- 
selves working against great odds in the 
New World. The fact that the Indians 
were wholly untutored was discouraging 
enough in itself, but when to this was 
added the bad example set by the wretched 
Spaniards, the labors of the priests became 
difficult in the extreme. Finally, a number 
of the missionaries returned to Spain in 
disgust. Father Roman Pane who styled 
himself "the poor hermit," and the Fran- 
ciscan, Juan Borgonan, remained at work 
among the Indians. The blameless life of 
these two men caused them to be received 
everywhere with veneration by the Indians. 
They worked persistently and incessantly 
until finally the chiefs were able to recite 
the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria and the 
Credo. 

These prayers were recited once a day 
by the chiefs of these tribes. The unre- 
strained vice of the white men, however, 
practically nullified the work of the good 
priests. How could the savages be ex- 



64 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

pectecl to cultivate the virtues when the 
example of excesses was being set for 
them by the civilized w^hites.^ 

Columbus, by his zeal, wisdom and dis- 
cretion was laying the foundation for a 
peaceful and prosperous community, but all 
of his good work was destined to be set at 
naught by the wickedness and indiscretions 
of the Spaniards. Deep in their hearts they 
had a distrust and dislike of Columbus, and 
this was vented in various ways at every 
opportunity. During his absence on tours 
of discovery, all sorts of abuses were com- 
mitted at Isabella, until a genuine hostility 
sprung up between the natives and the 
Spaniards, finally resulting in disastrous 
wars between the two. The ringleaders 
among the Spaniards were weak, vain men, 
and although they had not the ability to 
build up were adepts in the art of tear- 
ing down. With a patience almost noble, 
Columbus continued on his mission in spite 
of the obstacles constantly jDlaced in his 
path by the envious Spaniards. 

^-Narrative of Friar Pane in Fernando Columbus' History of 
his Father. 



THE CHURCH IN THE NEW WORLD. 65 

It was a custom with the Admiral, in all 
remarkable places which he visited, to erect 
crosses in conspicuous situations, to denote 
the discovery of the country and its subju- 
gation to the true faith. While coasting 
about the island of Cuba, Columbus came 
to one very beautiful river. "He ordered 
a large cross of wood to be erected on the 
bank of this river. This was done on a 
Sunday morning with great ceremony and 
the celebration of a Solemn High Mass. 
When he disembarked for this purpose he 
was met upon the shore by the Cacique and 
his principal favorite, a venerable Indian, 
fourscore years of age, of grave and dignified 
deportment. The old man brought a string 
of beads of the kind to which the Indians 
attached a mystic value, and a calabash of 
a delicate kind of fruit ; these he presented 
to the Admiral in token of amity. He and 
the Cacique then each took Columbus by 
the hand and proceeded with him to the 
grove, where preparations had been made 
for the celebration of the Mass ; a multitude 
of natives followed. While Mass was per- 
forming in this natural temple, the Indians 
5 



66 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

looked on with awe and reverence, perceiv- 
ing from the tones and gesticulations of the 
priest, the lighted tapers, the smoking in- 
cense and the devotion of the Spaniards, 
that it must be a ceremony of a sacred and 
mysterious nature."^ 

The Indians possessed an inborn love 
of the beautiful, and the grand rites sur- 
rounding the solemn celebration of the 
Mass had a fascinating interest for them. 
The missionaries were not slow to take 
advantage of this interest. It has been 
said that great accessions to its ranks 
always follow the grand public cere- 
monials of the Catholic Church. Who 
can doubt but that this was as true, 
among the Indians, four hundred years 
ago, as it is of the people of the present 
day, and that as a result of that Mass 
in the grove many souls were brought 
to the True Church of Christ. 



^ living's Life and Voyage 



YIII. 

Columbus in Ieons. 

The misrepresentations of Columbus at 
the Court began to grow in volume. When 
he returned to Spain he found a decided 
decline in his former wonderful popularity. 
The stories of the traducer and the back- 
biter were having their effect. It is a most 
marvellous fact, that holds good in all ages 
and countries, that no matter how meritori- 
ous the labors of a man may be, there are 
always some weaker and smaller-minded 
men on hand to cheapen them in the eyes 
of those with whom they should find the 
most favor. Columbus was aware of the 
change in the public mind, and he returned 
to Spain much dejected in spirit. When he 
appeared on the street he was attired in a 
garb resembling in form and color the habit 
of a Franciscan monk. He had permitted 
his beard to grow, and altogether presented 

67 



68 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

a most solemn and austere appearance. By 
appointment he proceeded at once to Bur- 
gos to meet the King and Queen. He felt 
that the indifference or contempt of the 
people might have the effect of impeding 
his work in the future. In order to avert 
this, he made an attempt to arouse interest 
by a public display of the curiosities and 
treasures he had brought from the JN'ew 
World. These included some five or six 
half-naked Indians highly ornamented. 

The reception of Columbus by the King 
and Queen set him entirely at ease. Con- 
trary to his expectation they had paid no 
attention to the evil reports that had been 
circulated about him, and expressed entire 
confidence and satisfaction in what he had 
done. This gladdened the heart of Colum- 
bus, who beneath a proud exterior possessed 
a most sensitive nature. He gave a de- 
tailed explanation of what he had accom- 
plished and then proposed a third voyage. 
He wanted to make more extensive dis- 
coveries than ever and asked for eight 
ships — two to be despatched to the island 
of Hispaniola with supplies, the remaining 



COL UMB US IN IRONS. 69 

six to be placed under his command for 
a voyage of discovery. The Sovereigns 
promised to do this at once, and probably 
meant to. But alas for the frailty of human 
promises, Columbus was kept in suspense 
for months and months. He fretted ex- 
ceedingly over what he considered the 
unfortunate procrastination of the Sover- 
eigns. After many disappointments and 
delays Columbus finally started on his third 
voyage of discovery on May 3, 1498. 

" The Admiral's old friend, Father Perez, 
accompanied this expedition. When they 
reached Hispaniola, Father Perez erected 
an humble convent of his order, which was 
the first foundation of the Franciscans in 
America. When the great city of San 
Domingo — so called in honor of St. Domi- 
nic — was laid out and made the first epis- 
copal see of the JN'ew World, Columbus, 
who was a member of the Third Order of 
St. Francis, built a substantial church and 
convent for Father Perez and his brethren. 
Besides Franciscans, there were Domi- 
nicans, Augustinians and other mission- 
aries who accompanied Columbus either on 



70 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

this or on his third and fourth voyages, and 
all were equally encouraged and assisted 
by his liberality, so that this simple lay- 
man, this illustrious navigator, this great 
discoverer, may be justly called a propa- 
gator of the faith and a champion of Holy 
Church."^ When he arrived at Isabella he 
found a rebellion in progress. The rebels 
were finally arrested and shipped to Spain. 
On their arrival they at once proceeded 
to the court, where they brought charges 
against Columbus in the most approved 
style. The King promptly decided to send 
Don Francisco de Bobadilla, an officer of 
the royal household, to investigate the alle- 
gations. Bobadilla proved to be a veritable 
beggar on horseback. When he entered the 
harbor of Isabella he saw on either bank a 
gibbet containing the body of a Spaniard 
lately executed. This, to his mind, was 
proof conclusive that all the charges against 
Columbus were true. He did not pause to 
consider that these men had been found 
guilty of treason and rebellion after an im- 
partial trial before a tribunal constituted 

^ Kt. Eev. Mgr. Kobert Seton, D. D. 



COL UMB US IN IRONS. 71 

and authorized by the Sovereigns. Colum- 
bus was absent from the city at the time, 
and Bobadilla, instead of investigating, at 
once assumed command, and in a violent 
order summoned Columbus to appear before 
him. The latter, instead of setting this 
offensive command at defiance, called on 
Bobadilla. As soon as the Admiral ap- 
peared, the arrogant and officious " Investi- 
gator," with his little brief authority, gave 
orders to put the Discoverer in irons and 
confine him in the fortress. Even the bit- 
terest enemies of Columbus were shocked 
at the outrage to his venerable person, and 
shrank from the task of putting on the irons. 
Finally, to fill the measure of ingratitude 
meted out to him, it w^as one of his own 
domestics, a graceless and shameless cook, 
w^ho, with unwashed front, riveted the fet- 
ters with as much readiness and alacrity as 
though he were serving him with choice and 
savory viands.^ Through all of this Colum- 
bus conducted himself with his natural dig- 
nity and patience. His two brothers were 
also put in irons, and the three placed in a 
ship and sent to Sj^ain. 

^ Las Casas, History of the Indies. 



72 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

They were hardly out of the harbor when 
the master of the ship offered to take off 
the chains. " No," replied Columbus, with 
noble dignity, " I am grateful to you for 
your good will, but cannot consent to what 
you propose. Their Majesties have written 
to me to submit to whatever Bobadilla 
might command me in their name, and it 
was in their name that he loaded me with 
these chains ; and I will carry them until 
the King and Queen give orders to take 
them off. Moreover, I will keep them in 
future as a monument of the recompense 
bestowed on my services." ^ 

To say there was a sensation when the 
Admiral appeared in the Old World in 
chains, puts the situation mildly. There 
was a reaction, and the popular feeling, 
only a little while before against him, now 
run high in his favor. The Sovereigns at 
once disclaimed any responsibility for this 
outrage, and invited him to appear at the 
court. The heart of the noble-minded 
Isabella was filled with indignation at the 
manner in which Columbus had been 

• Las Casas, History of the Indies. 



COL UMB US IN IRONS. 73 

treated and the royal authority abused. 
However coldly Ferdinand might have felt 
toward Columbus, he could not well resist 
the popular will, and joined with Isabella 
in denouncing the indignity to the person 
of the Admiral. They wrote a letter to 
Columbus, couched in terms of gratitude 
and aifection, and ordered at the same time 
that two thousand ducats should be ad- 
vanced to defray his expenses in coming to 
the court. 

The loyal heart of Columbus was again 
cheered by this declaration of his Sover- 
eigns. He felt conscious of his integrity, 
and anticipated an immediate restitution 
of all his rights and dignities. He appeared 
at court in Granada on the 17th of Decem- 
ber, not as a man ruined and disgraced, 
but richly dressed, and attended by an 
honorable retinue. He was received by 
the Sovereigns with unqualified favor and 
distinction. When the Queen beheld this 
venerable man approach, and thought of 
all he had deserved and all that he had 
suffered, she was moved to tears. Colum- 
bus had borne up firmly against the rude 



74 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

conflicts of the world, he had endured 
with lofty scorn the injuries and insults of 
ignoble men ; but he possessed strong and 
quick sensibility. When he found himself 
thus kindly received by his Sovereigns, 
and beheld tears in the benign eyes of 
Isabella, his long-suppressed feelings burst 
forth ; he threw himself on his knees, and 
for some time could not utter a word for 
the violence of his tears and sobbings.^ 

During the month that elapsed between 
the arrival of Columbus and the answer of 
the Sovereigns, history has lost sight of the 
Admiral. It is only known that disgusted 
with the deceit and weaknesses of the court, 
and counting only on God, he wished to 
retire from the world. Unmindful of what 
might be thought of him he allowed his 
beard to grow, and wore the habit of the 
order of St. Francis. It is believed he 
seriously contemplated joining this order 
at this time.^ 



Irving' s Life and Voyages. ^ Rosselly de Lorgues. 



IX. 

Plan to Recover the Holy Sepulchre. 

In the midst of all his troubles Columbus 
remembered his vow to furnish the neces- 
sary funds to rescue the Holy Sepulchre 
from the unbelievers. He had promised, 
it will be remembered, within seven years 
of the time of his discovery to furnish 
50,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 horses for 
this purpose. He therefore prepared a 
long and elaborate letter to the Sovereigns 
on the subject. In this letter he urged 
them to set on foot a crusade for the de- 
liverance of Jerusalem. He entreated them 
not to reject his present advice as extrava- 
gant and impracticable, nor to heed the 
discredit that might be cast upon it by 
others ; reminding them that his great 
scheme of discovery had originally been 
treated with similar contempt. 

75 



76 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 

He avowed in the fullest manner his 
persuasion, that from his earliest infancy 
he had been chosen by Heaven for the 
accomplishment of those two great designs, 
the discovery of the JN^ew World and the 
rescue of the Holy Sepulchre. For this 
purpose, in his tender years, he had been 
guided by a Divine impulse to embrace the 
profession of the sea, a mode of life, he 
observes, which produces an inclination to 
inquire into the mysteries of nature ; and 
he had been gifted with a curious spirit to 
read all kinds of chronicles, geographical 
treatises and works of philosophy. In 
meditating upon these, his understanding- 
had been opened by the Deity, " as with a 
palpable hand," so as to discover the navi- 
gation to the Indies, and he had been 
inflamed with ardor to undertake the enter- 
prise. " Animated as if by a heavenly 
fire," he adds, " I came to your Highnesses ; 
all who heard of my enterprise mocked at 
it ; all the sciences I had acquired profited 
me nothing ; seven years did I pass in 
your royal court disputing the case with 
persons of great authority and learned in 
all the arts, and in the end they decided 



THE HOL Y SEPULCHRE. 77 

that all was vain. In your Highnesses 
alone remained faith and constancy. Who 
will doubt that this light was from the 
Holy Scriptures, illumining you as well as 
myself with rays of marvelous brightness." ^ 
"These ideas so repeatedly expressed by 
a man of the fervent piety of Columbus, 
shows how truly his discovery arose from 
the working of his own mind, and not from 
information furnished by others. He con- 
sidered it a Divine intimation, a light from 
Heaven, and the fulfilment of what had 
been foretold by our Saviour and the proph- 
ets. Still, he regarded it but as a minor 
event preparatory to the great enterprise — 
the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. He 
pronounced it a miracle effected by Heaven, 
to animate himself and others to that holy 
undertaking; and he assured the Sover- 
eigns that, if they had faith in his present 
as in his former propositions they would 
assuredly be rewarded with equally tri- 
umphant success. He conjured them not 
to heed the sneers of such as might scoff 
at him as one unlearned, as an ignorant 

^ Irving's Life and Voyages. 



78 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

mariner, a worldly man ; reminding them 
that the Holy Spirit works not merely in 
the learned but also in the ignorant ; nay, 
that it reveals things to come, not merely 
by rational beings but by prodigies in 
animals, and by mystic signs in the air and 
in the Heavens."^ 

Columbus also prepared a book on the 
subject. The title of the work was " Collec- 
tion of Prophecies Concerning the Recovery 
of Jerusalem and the Discovery of the In- 
dies." Fourteen of these j^ages are still pre- 
served, but they are evidently taken from 
the first sketch or draft, in which the Admi- 
ral was setting down as he came to them 
the witnesses and authorities in his favor, 
as preparatory material for the work he in- 
tended ; for the passages collected and the 
authorities cited have no connection of ar- 
gument or coordination with each other. ^ 

In the meantime the mind of the Admi- 
ral became filled with a plan for a fourth 
voyage of discovery. He was convinced 
that there must be a strait somewhere about 

^ Irving's Life and Voyages. 

* Francesco Tarducci's Life of Columbus. 



* THE HOLT SEPULCHRE. 79 

his former discoveries and opening into the 
Indian Sea. He was anxious to bring the 
Crown great revenue from his discoveries. 
The Sovereigns listened to his plan with 
great attention, and finally consented to his 
executing it. He was authorized to fit out 
an armament. He repaired to Seville in 
the autumn of 1501 to make the necessary 
preparations. 

" Though this substantial enterprise di- 
verted his attention from his romantic 
expedition for the recovery of the Holy 
Sepulchre, it still continued to haunt his 
mind. He left his manuscript collection of 
researches among the prophecies, in the 
hands of a devout friar, of the name of 
Gaspar Gorricio, who assisted to complete 
it. In February, also, he wrote a letter to 
Pope Alexander VI, in which he apologizes, 
on account of indispensable occupations for 
not having repaired to Rome according to 
his original intention, to give an account of 
his grand discoveries. After briefly relating 
them, he adds that his enterprises had been 
undertaken with the intention of dedicating 
the gains to the recovery of the Holy Sepul- 



80 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

chre. He mentions his vow to furnish, 
within seven years, fifty thousand foot and 
five thousand horses for the purpose, and 
another of like force within five succeeding 
years. This pious intention, he laments, 
had been impeded by the arts of the devil, 
and he feared without Divine aid would 
be entirely frustrated, as the g-overnment 
which had been granted to him in perpe- 
tuity had been taken from him. He informs 
his Holiness of his being about to embark 
on another voyage, and promises solemnly, 
on his return, to repair to Rome with- 
out delay, to relate everything by word 
of mouth, as well as to present him with 
an account of his voyages, which he had 
kept from the commencement to the present 
time, in the style of the ' Commentaries of 
C^sar.'"^ 

It is plainly to be seen that the predomi- 
nant thought of this truly great man was 
Rome! Rome!! the mistress of the world 
and the mistress of his soul. When he de- 
sired comfort, when he desired authority ; 
in the midst of his deepest sorrows and 

^ living's Life and Voyages. 



THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 81 

greatest triumphs his thoughts naturally 
turned to the Eternal City, to the seven 
high hills that led to the earthly throne, 
whereon was seated the successor of St. 
Peter, and the visible head of the Holy 
Catholic Church/ 



' In this connection it is gratifying to know that, in the world- 
wide movement to honor Cohimbus, the Eternal City is not to 
be outdone. • An International Committee has been formed for 
the purpose of securing the erection of a worthy monument to 
the great discoverer. The Committee has invited Catholics 
throughout the world to cooperate in the movement. Pope Leo 
XIII has taken a great interest in the matter, and has given it 
his sanction and blessing. The monument will either face the 
Vatican or be erected within the precincts of St. Peter's. 

6 



X. 

The Death of Columbus. 

Columbus started on his fourth and last 
voyage of discovery at the age of 66, with 
a constitution impaired, but with an intel- 
lect as bright and as vigorous as ever. He 
sailed from Cadiz on the 9th of May, 1502, 
and the voyage was without any striking 
incidents. Owing to the unsettled condi- 
tion of affairs at Hispaniola, and the fact 
that his enemies were still in control of 
that island, Columbus was instructed not 
to stop there. He made his arrangements 
accordingly. When he reached San Do- 
mingo, however, his vessel was in a leaky 
condition, and he started toward that place. 
It is a singular commentary on the' injustice 
of man toward man, that Columbus was 
insolently refused shelter in the very har- 
bor he had discovered. The leak was 
patched up without entering the harbor, 
82 



THE DEATH OF COLUMBUS. 83 

and Columbus continued his voyaging 
along the shores of Costa Rica. He was in 
much personal distress at this time, and 
there were continual murmurings on the 
ship. As he was not in a condition to 
make tempting promises to the crew he 
finally directed the ship toward Spain, and 
returning repaired to Seville. Here he 
discovered his personal affairs to be in a 
state of almost hopeless confusion. Then 
began a long and wearisome struggle with 
the Crown for his rights and possessions. 
He cared not for the financial returns to 
which he was entitled, but he was highly 
sensitive regarding his title and the similar 
honors assured him when he embarked on 
his venturesome expedition. 

His bodily ailments continued to in- 
crease, and the last ray of hope seemed to 
die in the careworn body when he learned 
of the death of his royal friend and bene- 
factress. Queen Isabella. It seemed a fatal 
blow to his fortunes and to the fortune of 
his family. Filled with grief, he wrote the 
following characteristic letter to his son on 
the Queen's death : 



84 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

" It is important above all," he says, " to 
recommend the Queen our lady to God with 
all your heart and with great devotion. 
Her life was always Catholic and holy, and 
directed in all things to His holy service ; 
and for this reason we ought to believe 
that she is in His glory, without a shadow 
of longing for this harsh and painful world. 
The next thing is to apply yourself with 
zeal in everything and everywhere for the 
King our Lord, and help to make him for- 
get his grief. His Highness is the head of 
Christendom. Think of the proverb which 
says : ' When the head suffers, all the 
m.embers languish.' Therefore, all good 
Christians ought to pray for his health, so 
that he may live long; and we who are 
under greater obligations to serve him than 
others, ought to do it with more zeal and 
diligence." 

All that winter Columbus was confined 
to his bed. He wrote letter after letter to 
the court, but they were received with cool 
indifference. Finally he determined to 
make a pilgrimage to court. What a con- 
trast to this Columbus and the Columbus 



THE BE A TH OF COL UMB US. 8 5 

who was received in triumph at Barcelona. 
Then he was in the prime of life flushed 
with his triumph, and received the ap- 
plause of the fawners that surround a court. 
Now he was old, careworn and feeble, a 
melancholy and neglected man, treated 
with indifference by the King, and ignored 
by those about the throne. The King gave 
him no satisfaction, and he left the court a 
more miserable man than he had ever 
been before in his life. The ingratitude of 
Ferdinand chilled his heart. He went 
home — to die. 

On the fourth of May, 1505, he is said to 
have written an informal testamentary codi- 
cil on the blank page of a little breviary 
given him by Pope Alexander YI. This 
provided, among other things that, if schism 
should occur in the Church, his heirs were 
to offer their persons, power and wealth to 
extinguish the schism, and prevent any at- 
tempt on the honor and property of the 
Church. They were to build a church in 
Hispaniola to be called St. Mary's of the 
Conception ; to have Masses said for his 
soul, and for those of his ancestors, and for 



8a COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

posterity. Four "good professors of theol- 
ogy" were to be taken to Hispaniola to con- 
vert the people of that place. His heirs 
were solemnly enjoined to show a copy of 
this will to the priest every time they went 
to confession, so that the confessor might 
inquire if its provisions were faithfully 
carried out. Two weeks later, on the eve 
of his death, he wrote a more complete 
document. When he discovered that his 
troubled existence was coming to a close 
he turned all his thoughts towards God, 
and, with a silent resignation character- 
istic of the man, he waited for the end. 
He confessed and received the sacrament. 
Several of the good Franciscans, who had 
remained his constant friends through good 
and evil, were by his bedside. Over the 
head of the bed, on the wall on a nail, 
hung a pair of handcuffs — a bitter memo- 
rial of the occasion on which he was 
placed in irons by order of a servant of 
the King of Spain. His two sons, Fer- 
nando and Diego, were on their knees at 
his bedside. 



THE DEATH OE COLUMBUS. 87 

"After enriching Spain with so many 
regions and such treasures as no human 
tongue ever told of," says Tarducci, " after 
changing, by his discoveries, the face of 
the known world, doubling the known 
space of the globe, he was now groaning in 
abandonment and contempt in a wretched 
lodging-house, and had to beg for a loan 
of money to buy a cot to die on; and 
those who ridiculed his undertaking were 
triumphing in wealth and ease, in powder 
and honor." 

Amid the pious offices of the Church, 
Columbus expired on the day of the Ascen- 
sion, the 2()th of May, 1506, in his seventieth 
year. His last words were: "Into thy 
hands, Lord, I commend my spirit." He 
died clad in the frock of the Franciscan 
order, to which he was much attached. The 
body was deposited in the convent of St. 
Francis, the obsequies taking place with all 
of the pomp and solemnity possible in the 
ritual of the Church of which Columbus was 
such a faithful member. These ceremonies 
occurred at Valladolid, in the parochial 
church of Santa Maria de la Antigua. The 



88 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

remains were taken to Seville, thence to 
the Cathedral of San Domingo, and finally 
placed under the high altar of the Cathe- 
dral at Havana/ Thus ended the earthly 
existence of one of the greatest men of all 
the ages. 



^ The removal of the remains of Columbus from San Do- 
mingo to Havana were attended with elaborate ceremonies. 
The event began on the 20th of December, 1795, and occupied 
several days thereafter, the time being occupied with vigils and 
Masses for the dead, said by the Archbishop, who was assisted 
by the Dominican and Franciscan friars and those of the Order 
of Mercy. The remains arrived at Havana on the 15th of 
January, 1796, and were deposited with great reverence in the 
wall on the right-hand side of the grand altar. 

All these ceremonies were participated in by the highest re- 
ligious and secular dignitaries of the day, and the nobility and 
gentry of Havana, " in proof of the high estimation and re- 
spectful remembrance in which they held the hero who had 
discovered the New World, and had been the first to plant the 
standard of the cross in that island." 



XI. 

The Chakacter of Columbus. 

Time, which tempers all things, has done 
full justice to the memory of Columbus. 
Eminent critics of all countries and creeds 
join in declaring him one of the most 
remarkable men of all ages. Every im- 
partial person has the means of making an 
estimate of the character of Columbus ; but 
in order to give the reader the advantage 
of the best thought on the subject, it has 
been deemed desirable to present the views 
of a number of prominent ecclesiastics in 
the form of a symposium. The following 
abstracts are therefore presented as a fair 
illustration of the great esteem in which 
the memory of Columbus is held : 

" The glory of the great Catholic discov- 
erer is that his heroic life and patient, 
persevering labors were inspired by a sub- 
lime zeal for the spreading of the knowledge 

89 



90 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

and love of the true religion of God." — Most 
Rev. J. J. Williams^ Archbishop of Boston, 
Mass. 

" The great explorer was a devoted Catho- 
lic ; his enterprise was made possible by 
the noble Catholic Queen of Spain, Isabella ; 
his first act when landing on the shore of 
the newly-discovered world was to plant 
the Cross — the symbol of Catholic faith. 
Liberty, almost unknown, found a home in 
the land Columbus discovered. Catholics 
enjoy its blessings, while they share with 
their fellow citizens the great prosperity 
that everywhere prevails." — Most Rev. P. 
A. Feehan^ Archbishop of Chicago, III. 

" Catholics, especially, should pride 
themselves in celebrating the discovery 
of America, since this magnificent event 
was brought about by devoted children 
of Holy Church. In every other event 
in the noble history of America, Catholics 
can point with pleasure to the splendid 
part which our brethren in the faith have 
taken for the welfare of our common 
country." — Most Rev. William Gross, Arch- 
bishop of Portland, Oregon. 



THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 91 

" This greatest man of his age exempli- 
fied in his own person the fate of the 
leaders of mankind. As the rock must be 
struck by iron to elicit the vital sparks, so 
must the heart of man be wounded to pro- 
duce the fire of immortal fame that flashes 
into a beacon -light of history. Suffering is 
the mark of true greatness ; for no head 
has ever worn the wreath of laurels which 
has not been crowned with thorns. The 
heroes of the world are o-reatest when they 
have suffered most." — Et. Rev. Mgr. Robert 
Seton, D. I). 

" It should be a source of inspiration, 
and a pledge of greater devotion to country, 
to know that the God of Nations in His 
wisdom has vouchsafed to open up to us 
through a devoted Catholic and Christian 
explorer the privileges that we now enjoy 
as Catholics in the unfettered practice of 
our dear religion. 

" The prosperity of the Church, which is 
certainly abreast of the best advances of 
our country in the pathway of a truly 
Christian civilization, has assumed, during 
the last fifty years, proportions of strength 



92 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

and grandeur before which every unbiassed 
intelligence must stand in silence, if not 
demonstrative admiration. It is impossible 
for such an organization to come into touch 
with our national institutions without be- 
coming a forceful element in the make-up 
of American life. This influence, however, 
must enter into our nationality through the 
fidelity which we extend to the religious 
teachings of the Church ; and out from 
that fidelity to God must inevitably come 
a greater loyalty to country." — jRt. Bev. 
Thomas Beaven, D. I)., Bisliojp of Sj^ringjield^ 
Mass. 

" Columbus never suspected the real 
greatness of his discovery. He thought 
that he had reached Asia. Had he with 
prophetic eye glanced beyond the horizon 
of his time, and beheld what were then only 
splendid possibilities, developed now into 
marvellous realities, those mighty rivers 
which he thought the arteries of a continent, 
floating great ships laden with the fruits of 
countless industries ; prosperous cities with 
their millions of happy homes in place of 
what was then a wilderness, and, above all. 



THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 93 

had he beheld the cross he planted on every 
shore he discovered, gleaming proudly 
above so many magnificent temples dedi- 
cated to God by that Church he loved so 
passionately, his cup of glory had surely 
been filled. The glorious prospect would 
have been as unction to the soreness caused 
by his chains, and would have consoled him 
for his inability to execute his other grand 
design. For, strange as it may seem, his 
extraordinary achievement was subordinate 
to another which he contemplated. He 
would liberate the Holy Sepulchre from the 
desecrating touch of the Saracen. He was 
ambitious for gold. Yes, but apart from his 
just rights this was the motive of that am- 
bition. This hope of his later years he 
was not to realize. The evening of his life 
was clouded. He had to wear the crown of 
thorns and drink the chalice of God's will. 
The country he discovered does not bear 
his name. But the bays and rivers and 
mountains and capes he discovered bear 
witness in the names he gave them to his 
love for God and Church. He needs no 
monument of brass or marble. His noble 



94 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC 

deeds are written in the fleshy tablets of 
millions of hearts. May they never be 
effaced !" — Rev. T. F. Kennedy^ Seminary of 
St. Charles Borromeo, Overbrook, Fa. 

" May we not reasonably assume that 
the great navigator, after all, was a willing 
instrument in the hands of God ? Consider 
the times. The old order was changing. 
Three great inventions, already beginning 
to exert a most potent influence, were des- 
tined to revolutionize the world — the print- 
ing press, which led to the revival of 
learning ; the use of gunpowder, which 
changed the methods of warfare ; the mari- 
ner's compass, which permitted the sailor 
to tempt boldly even unknown seas. These 
three great factors of civilization, each in 
its way, so stimulated human thought that 
the discovery of America was plainly in the 
designs of that providence which ' reach eth 
from end to end mightily and ordereth all 
things sweetly.' Once more, take God's 
dealings with the human race, as illustrated 
in the central fact of all history, the incar- 
nation of His Son. The promise of the 
Redeemer runs through the Scriptures in 



THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 95 

the Old Testament as a thread of gold in a 
tangled web. When all seems forbidding, 
the gracious promise is most clearly re- 
newed. For instance, Abraham is told of 
the wonderful increase of his posterity, 
when, in the order of nature, he could not 
hope for issue, and later on he is bidden to 
sacrifice his son, through whom the promise 
was to be accomplished. Just as all seems 
hopelessly lost an angel stays the father's 
uplifted arm, and the patriarch receives 
the divine assurance : ' I will multiply thy 
seed as the stars of heaven and the sands 
by the seashore, and in thy seed shall all 
the nations of the earth be blessed.' " — Most 
Bev. M. A. Corrigan^ ArchbisJiop of New 
York. 

"Whoever has studied the philosophy of 
the discovery of the New World and looked 
into the heart of the great Mariner, must 
have perceived that the religious faith of 
Columbus, deep, intense and self-sacrificing, 
was the chief inspiration of the marvellous 
project, the realization of which has immor- 
talized his name. ' I hope that it will be 
given to me some day to propagate, with 



96 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

the help of God, the most holy name of 
Jesus Christ and His Grospel,' said the navi- 
gator to Ferdinand and Isabella. This was 
the motive also that warmed the heart of 
the holy Monk who sustained him in his 
trials and inspired the advocacy and sacri- 
fice of the great generous Queen, without 
whose aid the people of this great Conti- 
nent might have remained for years ' in 
darkness and the shadow of death,' and 
consequent barbarism. Behold, then, the 
central group of our Christian civilization, 
the Monk, the Mariner, and the Woman, 
representing — as has been suggested — 
Faith, Hope and Charity — the theological 
virtues of Christianity." — Most Rev. P. J, 
Ryaii^ ArcJihisJiop of Philadelphia. 

''As patriotic citizens of this most glori- 
ous and free of the republics and govern- 
ments of the new world, we can most 
readily appreciate the benefits that have 
accrued from the discovery to the civiliza- 
tion and betterment of the human family. 
Here liberty, so long enthralled beyond the 
seas, has found a congenial home. Here 
has been afforded the spectacle of a nation 



THE CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS. 97 

which enjoys freedom without license and 
authority without despotism; the purest 
democracy allied with a stable Government. 
Peace and happiness, as far, perhaps, as is 
attainable on earth, result from most favor- 
able conditions. Climate, soil, vegetation, 
and mineral products, found in a most end- 
less variety and profusion, all conspire to 
make our country the most desirable in the 
world. Nor can we forget to note, with a 
love for our religion as strong and as true 
as that for our country, the magnificent ex- 
pansion God has given to the Church, and 
how sturdily and beautifully this flower of 
Christian faith has grown, untrammelled, 
under the benign influence of our republi- 
can institutions. At the birth of this Con- 
tinent on the world's vision, our fathers 
came bearing the cross of Christ and the 
torch of enlightenment, waving the banner 
of liberty, and sowing the seeds of com- 
merce and religion. In the civilization of 
the country and in the perpetuation of its 
benefits they have taken a prominent and 
decisive part, and have joined hand and 
heart with their fellow -citizens irrespective 
7 



98 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

of creed. They have aided in exploring 
and in colonizing it and in developing its 
resources. They have spent their life's 
energies toward its prosperity, and many 
their life's blood in the defence of its liber- 
ties." — James (Cardinal) Gibbons, ArchbisJio^ 
of Baltimore. 



XII. 

Columbus and the Church. 

Professor Thrope, of the University of 
Pennsylvania, in a lecture in the University 
Extension course at Sea Isle City, N. J., 
in the winter of '91-92, said : " Virtually, 
we owe the discovery of America to an 
obscure and humble priest." Miss Eleanor 
C. Donnelly, the gifted poetess, has used 
this thought as the theme for a beautiful 
poem entitled " Columbus and the Church." 
This poem was read at the Catholic Quadri- 
Centennial Celebration of the Discovery of 
America, presided over by Archbishop 
Ryan, and held in the Philadelphia 
Academy of Music on the evening of 
Wednesday, October 12, 1892.^ 

^ Published with the approval and special permission of Miss 
Donnelly. 

99 



100 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 



When we chant our mighty paean for Columbus, 
Grand "Te Deum " of the nations far and near ; 

When we crown him with a glad and golden nimbus, 
And shrine him in the glory of the Year; 

When we strive to limn in gorgeous hues, yet tender, 
The ancient court of Ferdinand, the King, 

And of Isabella, robed in regal splendor, 
A choral of Castilian sweetness sing ; 

When we boast of Dom De Deza and Mendoza, 
Of Saint Angel, Quintanilla and the rest. 

Ah, forget not Fra Juan Perez de Marchena, 
Of all the friends the bravest and the best. 

The poor Franciscan, gifted Father Guardian 
Of La Rabida (old convent near the sea. 

Close to Palos, on the blue waves' breezy margin, 
Where the fishing boats were rocking in the lee) ; 

Who bade welcome unto bed and board monastic, 
The Pilgrim with the thorny chaplet crown'd. 

The great Genoese — the grave, enthusiastic 
Chkistofero Columbo, world renown'd ! 

In his wand'rings, gave him rest and consolation, 
In his disappointment, filed fate's iron chain. 

Helped him open wide the mansions of salvation 
To the waiting millions lost beyond the main ; 



COLUMBUS AND THE CHURCH. 101 

Cheered his spirit when it pined amid the shadows 
Of a dark distrust, a wearisome delay ; 

To a conquest, grander far than old Granada's, 
Sent him forth, at last, exulting on his way. 

Let us steal the dulcet lyre of an angel 

From the shining ranks that harp before the 
Throne, 
Rather, snatch the silvern trump of some Archangel, 

With its rarest notes by Seraph lips unblown, 

To give the land, in strains of matchless sweetness. 
The moral of the poor Franciscan's fame. 

The glory that enshrines in rich completeness, 
Juan Perez de Marchena's humble name. 

Erst the guide of queens, the confidant of princes, 
In the splendid court of Leon and Castile, 

In his bare and lowly cloister, he evinces 
All a simple friar's unpretending zeal. 

From his convent-tower (nightly vigils keeping), 
Among the stars his virgin thoughts take wing ; 

With planet lore entranced — perchance, when sleeping, 
He sees, in dreams, those lamps of Heaven's King 

Illume a mighty land beyond the surges, 

A continent across the western wave. 
Where grieving angels moan pathetic dirges 

O'er full many a lonely heathen grave. 



102 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 



II. 

Whose eye, like his, hath searched those starry realms? 

Whose ear hath caught that wail upon the breeze ? 
The burden of his hopes and fears o'erwhelms 

The spirit of a great soul's Genoese. 

Behold, he comes ! His hand is on the portal ! 

His foot hath gained its heav'n appointed goal ! 
The Hero comes — Columbus, the immortal ! 

Fra Juan salutes the brother of his soul ! 

Say not that greed for gold or precious spices 

Allures the noble sailor to his quest. 
Is it not rather zeal for souls entices 

His generous heart? Faith animates his breast. 

What time he sees the flames of Hope expire. 
Quenched by the torrent of a strong man's tears, 

He comes — he meets, he greets the pitying Friar, 
He tells his wondrous tale to willing ears. 

Tho' wholesome heart with bitterness be cankered, 
Tho' waves of desolation round him roll. 

And, like a ship among the icebergs anchored. 
He feels the chill of death assail his soul ; 

Praise God ! he finds among the sons of Francis 
One spirit broad enough to grasp the plan, 

Despised and scorned as wildest of romances 
By sage and doctor, knight and nobleman. 



COLUMBUS AND THE CHURCH. 103 

Glory to Fra Perez, brave De Marchena ! 

Who nerved the Hero in his hour of gloom 
To meet and master in Faith's wide arena, 

Those giant shades of Hell — Despair and Doom. 

All glory to the Church of God Eternal, 

Our mighty mother, Christ's immortal spouse, 

Who, through her servant,snatched from powers infernal. 
Unnumbered souls, as gems to" bind her brows ! 



III. 

Ah ! when to-day, Columbia, from her eyrie. 

Looks out with eagle glance across the land, 
And sees the gardens crowding out the prairie, i 

And hamlet wid'ning to the city grand — I 

Sees, from afar, where plagues and perils chasten, j 

Mid wreck of thrones and sceptres downward hurled 

Swift to her shores, across the billows hasten 
The exiled and evicted of the world — 

Sees nature's bounty. Science, Art, Invention, 

Flooding her children's homes with joy and light, 

While Freedom, 'neath the Starry Flag's extension. 
Above the humblest, spreads her aegis bright. 

Broad as her skies (whence bigots' ban hath drifted, 

And Justice guards the lights of Liberty), 
Will she not cry, with heart and voice uplifted, 

" O Church of God, how much we owe to thee ! 



104 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

" For thou didst prompt the Spanish Friar's devotion, 
Didst spoil the Spanish Queen of gems and gold, 

Didst guide Columbus o'er a trackless ocean. 
To give a New World to the wondering Old, 

" And thine it is, with tongue and law unspotted. 
To bid thy sons around their banner band. 

As Christian freemen, patriots devoted. 
Prove ever true to God and Fatherland ! 

" Yea, thine it is, across Time's troubled waters, 
To point us to a fairer Shore than this, 

To guide (Columbus-like) thy sons and daughters. 
To that New World of everlasting bliss! " 




POPE LEO XIIL 



XIII. 

Pope Leo XIII on Columbus. 

If anything were needed to convince 
Catholics of the interest they should take 
in everything connected with Columbus, it 
is the position taken by His Holiness, Pope 
Leo XIII. He has issued an encyclical to 
the Archbishops and Bishops of Spain and 
the two Americas, which has been pro- 
nounced by competent critics one of the 
finest literary efforts of the present decade. 
Catholics of the United States will be espe- 
cially gratified at the remarkable interest 
shown by the Holy Father in the Colum- 
bian Exposition. Much significance is at- 
tached to the action of the Pontiff in asking 
for space at the Fair. There is no prece- 
dent in the Papal history for an act of this 
kind, and it is only to be inferred that the 
Pope is willing to especially honor the great 
American enterprise. 

106 



106 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

Letter of Pojpe Leo XLIL. 

The following is the full text of the Pope's 
encyclical on the subject of Columbus : 

" To the Archbishops and Bishops of 
Spain and Italy, and of the two Americas, 
Leo XIII, Pope. Venerable brothers: 

" Grreeting and apostolic benediction : 
From the end of the fifteenth century, since 
a man from Liguria first landed, under the 
auspices of God, on the trans- Atlantic 
shores, humanity has been strongly inclined 
to celebrate with gratitude the recollection 
of this event. It would certainly not be an 
easy matter to find a more worthy cause to 
touch their hearts and to inflame their zeal. 
The event in eifect is such in itself that no 
other epoch has seen a grander and more 
beautiful one accomplished by man ; as to 
he who accomplished it there are few who 
can be compared to him in greatness of soul 
and of genius. By his work a New World 
flashed forth from the unexplored ocean, 
thousands upon thousands of mortals were 
returned to the common society of the 
human race, led from their barbarous life 



POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. 107 

to peacefulness and civilization, and, which 
is of much more importance, recalled from 
perdition to eternal life by the best avowal 
of the gifts which Jesus Christ brought to 
the world. 

"Europe, astonished alike by the novelty 
and prodigiousness of this unexpected event, 
understood little by little, in due course of 
time, what she owed to Columbus, when, by 
sending colonies to America, by frequent 
communications, by exchange of services, 
by the resources confided to the sea and 
received in return, there was discovered an 
accession of the most favorable nature pos- 
sible to the knowledge of nature, to the 
reciprocal abundance of riches, with the re- 
sult that the prestige of Europe increased 
enormously. 

"Therefore, it would not be fitting amid 
these numerous testimonials of honor and 
in these concerts of felicitations that the 
Church should maintain complete silence, 
since, in accordance with her character and 
her institutions, she willingly approves and 
endeavors to favor all that appears, wher- 
ever it is, to be worthy of honor and praise. 



108 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

Undoubtedly she reserves particular and 
supreme honors to the virtues preeminent 
in regard to morality, inasmuch as they 
are united to the eternal salvation of souls ; 
nevertheless, she does not despise the rest, 
neither does she abstain from esteeming 
them as they deserve ; it is even her habit 
to favor them with all her power, and to 
always honor those who have well merited 
of human society and who have passed to 
posterity. 

''Certainly, God is admirable in his 
saints ; but the vestiges of His divine vir- 
tue appear as imprinted in those in whom 
shines a superior force of souls and mind, 
for this elevation of heart and this spark of 
genius could only come from God, their 
author and protector. 

"It is, in addition, an entirely special 
reason for which we believe we should com- 
memorate in a grateful spirit this immortal 
event. It is that Columbus is one of us. 
When one considers with what motive 
above all he undertook the plan of explor- 
ing the dark sea, and with what object he 
endeavored to realize this plan, one cannot 



POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. 109 

doubt that the Catholic faith superlatively 
inspired the enterprise and its execution, so 
that by this title all humanity is not a little 
indebted to the Church. 

" There are, without doubt, many men 
of hardihood and full of experience who, 
before Christopher Columbus and after 
him, explored, with persevering efforts, 
unknown lands across seas still more un- 
known. Their memory is celebrated and 
will still be so by the reason and the recol- 
lection of their good deeds, seeing that they 
have extended the frontiers of science and 
of civilization, and that not at the price of 
slight efforts, but with a very exalted ardor 
of spirit, and often through extreme perils. 
It is not the less true that there is a very 
great difference between them and he of 
whom we speak. The eminently distinc- 
tive point in Columbus is that, in crossing 
the immense expanses of the ocean, he 
followed an object more grand and more 
elevated than the others. This does not 
say, doubtless, that he was not in any way 
influenced by the very praiseworthy desire 
to be master of science, to well deserve the 



110 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

approval of society, or that he despised the 
glory whose stimulant is ordinarily more 
sensitive to elevated minds, or that he was 
not at all looking to his personal interests. 
But above all these human reasons, that of 
religion was uppermost by a great deal in 
him, and it was this, without any doubt, 
which sustained his spirit and his will, and 
which frequently, in the midst of extreme 
difficulties, filled him with consolation. He 
learned in reality that his plan, his resolu- 
tion profoundly carved in his heart, was to 
open success to the Gospel in new lands and 
in new seas. 

" This may seem hardly probable to those 
who, concentrating all their care, all their 
thoughts, in the present nature of things, as 
it is perceived by the senses, refuse to look 
upon greater benefits, but, on the other 
hand, it is the characteristic of eminent 
minds to prefer to elevate themselves 
higher, for they are better disposed than 
all others to seize the impulses and the 
inspirations of the divine faith. Certainly 
Columbus had united the study of nature 
to the study of religion, and he had con- 



POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. HI 

formed his mind to the precepts intimately 
drawn from the Catholic faith. It is thus 
that, having learned by astronomy and 
ancient documents that, beyond the limits 
of the known world, there were in addition, 
towards the West, large tracts of territory 
unexplored up to that time by anybody. 
He considered in his mind the immense 
multitude of those who were plunged in 
lamentable darkness, subject to insensate 
rites and to the superstitions of senseless 
divinities. He considered that they mis- 
erably led a savage life, with ferocious 
customs ; that, more miserably still, they 
were w^anting in all notion of the most 
important things and that they were 
plunged in ignorance of the only true God. 
Thus, in considering this in himself, he 
aimed, first of all, to propagate the name 
of Christian and the benefits of Christian 
charity in the West. As a fact, so soon as 
he presented himself to the sovereigns of 
Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, he ex- 
plained the cause for which they were not 
to fear taking a warm interest in the 
enterprise, as their glory would increase to 



112 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 

the point of becoming immortal if they 
decided to carry the name and the doctrine 
of Jesus Christ into such distant regions. 
And when not long afterward his prayers 
were granted, he called to witness that he 
wished to obtain from God that these 
sovereigns, sustained by His help and His 
mercy, should persevere in causing the 
Gospel to penetrate upon new shores and 
in new lands. He conceived in the same 
manner the plan of asking Alexander VI 
for apostolic men by a letter, in which 
these words are found : ' I hope that it will 
some day be given to me, with the help of 
God, to propagate afar the very holy name 
of Jesus Christ and His Gospel.' Also can 
one imagine him all filled with joy when 
he wrote to Raphael Sanchez, the first who 
from the Indies had returned to Lisbon, 
that immortal actions of grace must be 
rendered to God in that He had deigned 
to cause to prosper the enterprise so well ; 
and that Jesus Christ could rejoice and 
triumph upon earth and in heaven for the 
coming salvation of innumerable people 
who previously had been going to their 



POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. 113 

ruin. That if Columbus also asks of Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella to permit only Catholic 
Christians to go to the JN'ew World, there 
to accelerate trade with the nations, he 
supports this motive by the fact that, by 
his enterprise and efforts, he has not sought 
for anything else than the glory and the 
development of the Christian religion. 
This was what was perfectly known to 
Isabella, who, better than any other person, 
had penetrated the mind of such a great 
man ; much more, it appears that this 
same plan was fully adopted by this very 
pious woman of great heart and manly 
mind. She bore witness, in effect of 
Columbus, that in courageously giving 
himself up to the vast ocean, he realized 
for the Divine glory a most signal enter- 
prise. And to Columbus, himself, when 
he had happily returned, she wrote that 
she esteemed as having been highly em- 
ployed the resources which she had conse- 
crated and which she would still consecrate 
to the expeditions in the Indies, in view of 
the fact that the propagation of Catholicism 
would result from them. 
8 



1 1 4 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIC. 

" Also if he had not inspired himself 
from a cause superior to human interests, 
where then would he have drawn the con- 
stancy and the strength of soul to support 
what he was obliged to the end to endure 
and to submit to, that is to say, the un- 
propitious advice of the learned people, 
the repulse of princes, the tempests of 
the furious ocean, the continual watches 
during which he more than once risked 
losing his sight. To that adding the com- 
bats sustained against the barbarians, the 
infidelities of his friends, of his companions, 
the villainous conspiracies, the perfidious- 
ness of the envious, the calumnies of the 
traducers, the chains with which, after all, 
though innocent, he was loaded. It was 
inevitable that a man overwhelmed with 
a burden of trials so great and so intense 
would have succumbed had he not sus- 
tained himself by the consciousness of ful- 
filling a very noble enterprise, which he 
conjectured would be glorious for the 
Christian name and salutory for an 
infinite multitude, and the enterprise so 
carried out is admirably illustrated by 



POPE LEO XIII ON COL UMB US. 1 1 5 

the events of that time. In effect, Col- 
umbus discovered America at about the 
period when a great tempest was going 
to unchain itself against the Church. In- 
asmuch as that it is permitted by the 
course of events to appreciate the ways 
of Divine Providence, it really seems that 
the man for whom Liguria honors herself 
was destined by a special plan of God 
to compensate Catholicism for the injury 
which it was going to suffer in Europe. 
To call the Indian race to Christianity — 
this was, without doubt, the mission and 
the work of the Church. In this mission, 
commenced from the beginning, she con- 
tinued to fulfil it with an uninterrupted 
course of charity, and she still continues 
it, having advanced herself recently so far 
as the extremities of Patagonia. As to 
Columbus, certain as he was of tracing- 
out and of preparing the ways of the 
Grospel, and fully absorbed in this thought, 
caused all his actions to converge to it, not 
undertaking anything of any kind, but 
imder the shield of religion and with the 
escort of piety, we recall in this in reality 



116 COL UMB US THE CA THOLIO. 

things which are well known, but which 
are none the less remarkable in order to 
show forth the mind and the heart of this 
great man. Thus, when compelled by the 
Portuguese, by the Genoese to leave with- 
out having obtained any result, he went to 
Spain. He matured the grand plan of the 
projected discovery in the midst of the 
walls of a convent, with the knowledge of 
and with the advice of a monk of the order 
of St. Francis d' Assizes. After seven years 
had revolved, when at last he goes to dare 
the ocean, he takes care that the expedi- 
tion shall comply with the acts of spiritual 
expiation. He prays to the Queen of 
Heaven to assist the enterprise and direct 
the course, and before giving the order to 
make sail he invokes the august divine 
Trinity. Then once fairly at sea, while 
the waters agitate themselves, while the 
crew murmurs he maintains, under God's 
care, a calm constancy of mind. His plan 
manifests itself in the very names which 
he imposes on the new islands, and each 
time that he is called upon to land upon 
one of them he worships the Almighty 



POPE LEO XIII ON COLUMBUS. 117 

Grod and only takes possession of it in the 
name of Jesus Christ. At whatever coast 
he approaches he has nothing more as his 
first idea than the planting on the shore of 
the sacred sign of the cross, and the divine 
name of the Redeemer, which he had sung 
so frequently on the open sea, to the sound 
of the murmuring waves, he is the first to 
make it in the new islands. In the same 
way, when he institutes the Spanish colony, 
he causes it to be commenced by the con- 
struction of a temple, where he first pro- 
vides that no popular fetes shall be cele- 
brated by august ceremonies. Here, then, 
is what Columbus aimed at, and what he 
accomplished, when he went in search over 
a so grand expanse of sea and of land, of 
regions up to the time unexplored and 
uncultivated, but whose civilizations re- 
nown and riches were to rapidly attain 
that immense development which we see 
to-day. In all this, the magnitude of the 
event, the efficacy and the variety of the 
benefits which have resulted from it, tend 
assuredly to celebrate he who was the 
author of it by a grateful remembrance 



118 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

and by all sorts of the testimonials of 
honors ; but, in the first place, we must 
recognize and venerate particularly the 
divine project to which the discoverer of 
the JN'ew World was subservient and to 
which he knowingly obeyed. In order 
to celebrate worthily, and in a manner 
suitable to the truth of the facts, the 
solemn anniversary of Columbus, the 
sacredness of religion must be united to 
the splendor of the civil pomp. This is 
why, as previously, at the first announce- 
ment of the event, public actions of grace 
were rendered to the province of the 
immortal God, upon the example which 
the Supreme Pontiff gave, the same also 
now, in celebrating the recollection of the 
auspicious event. We esteem that we 
must do as much. We decree to this 
effect that the day of October 12th, or the 
following Sunday, if the respective diocese 
bishops judge it to be opportune that, after 
the office of the day, the Solemn Mass of 
the Very Holy Trinity shall be celebrated 
in the Cathedral and collegiate churches 
of Spain, Italy and the two Americas. In 



POPE LEO XIII ON COL UMB US. 119 

addition to these countries, we hope that, 
upon the initiative of the bishops, as much 
may be done in the others, for it is fitting 
that all should concur in celebrating with 
piety and gratitude an event which has 
been profitable to all. In the meanwhile, 
as a pledge of the celestial favors and in 
testimony of our fraternal good will, we 
affectionately accord in the Lord the apos- 
tolic benediction to you, venerable brethren, 
to your clergy and to your people. 

" Given at Rome, near St. Peter's, July 
16, of the year 1892, in the 15th of our 

Pontificate. 

^' Leo XIII, Pope." 



XIY. 

Catholics at the World's Fair. 

The position of the Catholic Church 
regarding education, and the Catholic 
.educational exhibit at the Columbian Ex- 
position, are ably set forth by Bishop 
Spalding in the following words : ^ 

" The Catholic Church is irrevocably 
committed to the doctrine that education 
is essentially religious, that purely secular 
schools give instruction but do not properly 
educate. The commemoration of the dis- 
covery of America, by holding an Exposi- 
tion which will attract the attention and 
awaken the interest of the entire world, 
offers an opportunity such as we cannot 
hope to have again in our day, or in that 
of our children, to give public evidence of 
the work we are doing. In the four hun- 

' From an article in the Calholic World, reproduced by per- 
mission of Rt. Rev. J. L. Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, 111. 
120 



CATHOLICS AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 121 

dred years which have flown by since the 
stars of heaven first saw reflected from these 
shores the white man's face, beside his white 
sail, there has been no such occasion for 
such an advertisement, and when the fifth 
centenary shall be here there will be no need, 
we may confidently trust, of special efi'orts 
to commend and uphold the cause of reli- 
gious education. Catholics assuredly have 
a right to a prominent place in this great 
celebration. Juan Perez, Isabella and Co- 
lumbus to whose lofty views and generous 
courage the discovery of America is chiefly 
due, were not only devout Catholics, but 
they were upheld and strengthened in their 
great undertaking by religious zeal and 
enthusiasm. Their faith was an essential 
element in the success of their enterprise. 
There should be no desire to ignore or ob- 
scure this fact, even on the part of the foes 
of the Church, and it is a duty which Catho- 
lics owe to the honor of the name they bear 
to see that the part which their religion 
played in opening to the Christian nations 
a new hemisphere, thereby extending and 
quickening the forces of civilization through 



122 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

the whole world, shall not be misunder- 
stood or passed over in silence at this 
time, when the eyes of all men turn to 
America to behold the marvels which have 
been wrought here by strong hearts and 
awakened minds. 

" To this end the Catholic educational ex- 
hibit, if rightly made, cannot but contribute ; 
and since it will be the only distinctively 
Catholic feature in the Columbian Exposi- 
tion, every honorable motive should impel 
us to leave nothing undone to make it wor- 
thy of the event commemorated, and of our 
own zeal in the cause of Christian education. 
We shall thus place before the eyes of the 
millions who will visit the exposition a clear 
demonstration of the great work the Catho- 
lic Church in the United States is doing to 
develop a civilization which is in great part 
the outgrowth of religious principles, and 
which depends for its continued existence 
upon the morality which religious faith alone 
can make strong and enduring. There can 
be little doubt that many are opposed to 
the Catholic school system, from the fact 
that they have never given serious attention 



CATHOLICS AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 123 

to the principles upon which it rests, or to 
the ends which it aims to reach. It is the 
fashion to praise education, and hence all 
declare themselves favorable to it; but those 
who love it enough to make it a matter of 
thoughtful and persevering meditation are, 
like the lovers of Truth, but few. But 
those who do not read seriously or think 
deeply, may be got to open their eyes and 
look ; and what they see may arouse in- 
terest and lead to investigation. Opinion 
rules the world, and the Catholic exhibit 
offers a means to help mould opinion on the 
subject of education, which in importance 
is second to no other ; and in an age in 
which the tendency is to take the school 
from the control of the Church, to place it 
under that of the State in such a way as 
to weaken its religious character, nothing 
which may assist in directing opinion to 
true views upon this subject may be 
neglected by those who believe that educa- 
tion is essentially religious. 

" The exhibit will help also to enlighten 
and stimulate teachers, by diffusing among 
them a more real and practical knowledge 



124 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

of the various educational methods and 
appliances. It will arouse a new interest 
in pedagogics as a science and an art. We 
may easily become victims of the fallacy 
that a school is Catholic because this ad- 
jective is affixed to its name, or because in 
it prayers are said and catechism is taught. 
A poor school cannot exert a wholesome 
influence of any kind. Idle, inattentive, 
listless and unpunctual children will not 
become religious, however much they are 
made to pray and recite catechism. In 
a truly religious character self respect, 
truthfulness, a love of thoroughness and 
excellence, a disinterested ambition, are as 
important as a devotional spirit. Where 
the natural virtues are lacking, the super- 
natural have no proper soil in which to 
grow. A right school system does not 
necessarily make a good school. 

" An educational exhibit will help to im- 
press these and similar truths more vividly 
upon the minds of educators ; it will enable 
a very large number of Catholics to take 
a general survey of the educational work 
which the church in the United States is 



CATHOLICS AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. 125 

doing, of which most of us have but a very 
inadequate knowledge ; it will bring into 
juxtaposition the methods and systems of 
the various teaching orders, and will make 
it possible for all to adopt whatever may 
be found excellent in any of them. There 
will, of course, be no unworthy rivalry, no 
thought of advertising this or that institu- 
tion or teaching order. The aim is to 
advance the cause of Catholic education. 
We care little where or by whom good 
work is done, it is enough to know that it 
is done. In certain instances a bishop will 
prefer to make a separate exhibit of the 
work done in his diocese, because he be- 
lieves that in this way the end will be 
attained more effectually. From a similar 
motive the teaching orders ma}^ choose to 
make collective exhibits of their work ; 
and institutions of learning which stand 
alone and have an individuality of their 
own, will avail themselves of this oppor- 
tunity to offer evidence of the kind of 
education they give. All our institutions 
of learning, from the university to the 



126 COL VMB US THE CA THOLIC. 

kindergarten come within the scope of this 
display of educational work. 

" The third Plenary Council emphasizes 
the urgent need of a wider and more 
thorough training of the priesthood, and 
it is believed that the theological semi- 
naries will make an exhibit which will be 
interesting and at the same time a valuable 
evidence of the progress we are making in 
fitting our priests for the special and ardu- 
ous tasks which this age of unsettled opin- 
ions and weak moral convictions imposes 
upon them. It is not rash to hope that the 
Catholic educational exhibit will awaken 
new zeal, arouse a more generous spirit of 
sacrifice, inspire a deeper enthusiasm in 
the cause of Christian* education, which is 
the cause of our country and our religion. 

"The question has been made that this 
exhibit will offer a favorable opportunity 
to hold a congress of Catholic teachers. 
The good results to be expected from such 
a meeting are numerous and manifest. 
Those who have paid any attention to the 
workings of the associations either coun- 
try, state or national, of the public school 



CATHOLICS AT THE WORLDS FAIR. 127 

teachers, are aware of the stimulating and 
illuminating effect which their discussions 
and deliberations produce. It is desirable 
that our Catholic educators should be 
brought together, and they should learn 
to know and appreciate one another, that 
they should correct one another by a com- 
parison of opinion and experiences. This, 
and much else, could be done in an educa- 
tional congress. A regret is often ex- 
pressed at the absence of lay action in 
Catholic affairs. Education is precisely 
the field in which Catholic laymen can 
most readily and most effectively bring 
their knowledge to bear upon the living 
issues and interests of the Church. They 
build and maintain our schools, and there 
is no good reason why they should not 
take an active part in stimulating them to 
higher efficiency. A certain number of our 
teachers are of the laity, and their relative 
proportion will doubtless increase. One 
need not be a Brother or a Sister to be at 
the head of even the best of Catholy3 schools. 
Why should not the intelligent laymen or 
women of a parish be invited to visit the 



128 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

schools and to examine the pupils ? Their 
presence would have a good influence upon 
the children, and their knowledge of the 
school would enable them to counteract 
the apathy or opposition of indifferent and 
foolish parents. 



XV. 

Columbus at Chicago. 

An interesting sketch on " Columbus 
himself at Chicago " has been written by 
Mr. E. T. Lauder, of New York.^ In sub- 
stance, it says : 

A fine distinction will mark the arrange- 
ment in the Latin -American Department 
of the Columbian Exposition, which is to 
comprise an extensive and inestimably 
valuable historical collection. This is 
planned as an addition to the regular ex- 
hibit of the Department of State, and is in 
charge of the Bureau of the American Re- 
publics, organized in 1890 under the super- 
vision of the head of that department. This 
manifold and broadly conceived system of 
illustration is to present the history of 
the Spanish-American republics and colo- 

''■ Eeprinted by permission from Harper's Weekly, August 13, 
1892. Copyright, 1892, by Harper and Brother. 

9 129 



130 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

nies from the discovery to the present day. 
As far as possible the life history of Colum- 
bus will be shown, with a complete pre- 
sentation of the condition of navigation 
and of geographical knowledge at his time. 

The building to contain so interesting a 
collection will be of itself in the character 
of history. This is to be constructed as a 
reproduction of the Convent of La Rabida 
on the headland projecting into the lake 
south of the pier. The selected tongue of 
land forms the most elevated site on the 
exposition grounds. To aid the exactness 
of the copy of this ancient convent at or 
near Palos in Andalusia, where Columbus 
frequently was sheltered during long inter- 
vals of repose as the guest of the friendly 
prior, the official emissary to Spain has 
made wax impressions from the struct- 
ure in different features of the design. A 
room in the building is to be fitted up to 
correspond precisely, according to accepted 
evidence, to that given the discoverer of 
America in his conventual abode. 

A great feature of the historical display 
of 1893 will be a correct model of the Santa 



COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO. 131 

Maria, in which Columbus sailed from Palos 
on his first voyage. An officer of the United 
States navy, Lieutenant McCarthy Little, 
has been despatched to Spain to seek full 
information, and to build the caravel. 
While Avork is begun on the reproduction 
of the Santa Maria ^ Lieutenant Little has 
been directed to make contracts for the 
construction of the Finta and the Mna, a 
bill having been passed by the Senate 
making the necessary appropriation for 
the work. When the construction is com- 
plete, this co])j of the Old World fleet 
will be navigated across the Atlantic, but 
whether in the original direction is not 
stated. The ships, at any rate, will be 
on hand to take part in the great naval 
review in ISTew York Harbor when that 
spectacle is offered. The journey hither 
from any country will be repaid by the 
sight of the naive little Sa7ita Maria bear- 
ing the royal blue flag of the flotilla as 
four hundred years ago, and holding her 
honored way among the proudest modern 
ships of the entire world. 



132 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

A hundred and forty-five men are at 
work at Cadiz building the caravel. In 
the naval review and during the term of 
the exposition the Santa Maria will be 
manned by Spanish sailors in the costume 
of the Columbian period, and be rigged 
and equipped as nearly as possible as 
during the great navigator's first voyage. 
After the display in JN'ew York Harbor 
this decked, four-masted vessel of ninety 
feet keel, with her armament of heavy 
guns, and small pieces forward, will be 
taken through the canals and lakes to 
Chicago, to be anchored beneath the walls 
of the Convent of La Rabida during the 
exposition. At its close the caravel will 
return to Washington, and will be per- 
manently moored in the lagoon south of 
the Executive Mansion. 

The first series in the comprehensive 
historical collection to be offered will illus- 
trate the fifteenth century ideas of geogra- 
phy, and the contemporary methods of 
navigation, by maps, models, and fac- 
similes of different kinds. The available 
evidences supporting the claims made in 



COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO. 133 

reference to pre-Columbian discoveries by 
the Phoenicians, Norsemen, Welshmen, 
and other nationalities will be impartially 
arrayed. One of the conspicuous features 
in this section will be a statue of the 
immortal Leif Erikson, towering among 
the wonderful old maps, charts, photo- 
graphs of places associated with his name, 
models of Norse ships, and other forms 
of illustration. With many interesting 
things coming from Christiania is a Vik- 
ing boat that was discovered some years 
ago. To combine the literary with the 
archaeological record, the Danish govern- 
ment has agreed to send over the original 
Icelandic sagas referring to the New World 
as a part of its contribution in valuable relics. 
A fine collection of navigating and other 
nautical instruments used before and dur- 
ing the time of Columbus will be exhibited. 
In that age of intellectual restlessness and 
yet haphazard exploration, the compass, 
the astrolabe, etc., had been adapted to 
navigation. The illustration of the activity 
impelled by the imagination of the time — 
running wild in theories of the Indies, the 



134 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

fabled land of Cathay, and all the golden 
kingdoms of the East — will be certainly a 
marvellous study in one collection. 

The complete series of charts, including 
in originals or copies all the ancient maps 
known, from the earliest representations 
of the earth by the Hindoos, will be an 
extraordinary part of this display. Proba- 
bly at one spot were never amassed so 
many of the early symbolic atlases as will 
be shown, each of which indicates by fanci- 
ful images of monsters more and more 
frightful the nearer degrees of latitude to 
the equinoctial line, around which the 
Mare Tenebrosum stretched its gloomy 
waves. As strange to the majority of 
observers will appear the collected maps 
of the Arabian geographers, prohibited by 
their religion from representing living ani- 
mals. These bear instead, as a sign of 
ominous significance, a black and crooked 
hand, the hand of Satan protruded from 
this awful deep — the Arab Bahr el Talmet 
— to drag into its gulfs the seamen who 
would be daring enough to brave its waters. 
The original globe of Martin Behaim, pre- 



COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO. 135 

served in the town-hall of Nuremberg, is 
among the other quaint geographical works 
to be expected, as the United States Min- 
ister at Berlin has made a request for it, 
which probably will be granted. 

With this preliminary series the life 
history of Columbus will be brought for- 
ward as the chief part of the representa- 
tion. As evinced in the present course of 
acquisition, no possible element will be 
omitted from this romance of history with 
its veracity clouded. In the fullest man- 
ner, and principally in photographs and 
sketches, will be illustrated the different 
cities claiming Columbus as a native — 
Cogoleto, Quinto, Genoa, etc. — with a model 
of the house in which he is believed, on 
comparatively credible evidence, to have 
been born, if not of the various houses for 
which the same distinction is claimed ; 
models of his burial-places, and, as is 
generally expected, of the casket containing 
his alleged bones. If other points in the 
history of Columbus are subject to sceptical 
treatment, few persons ever seriously have 
denied that he was buried in two hemis- 



136 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

pheres and more than once in each. Some 
of the investigators may believe with 
Harrisse that no bones of Columbus ever 
were interred at Havana ; but this burial- 
place will be equally represented with that 
of San Domingo, the folly generally being- 
avoided of having an exhibition marred by 
scientific conclusions. 

The course of Columbus at the University 
of Pavia, where, as the biographers attest, 
he was studying abstruse sciences at a 
tender age, will be illustrated in photo- 
graphic and other views. His subsequent 
experiences in Portugal and Madrid are to 
be similarly followed, with attention given 
finally to his association with Spain in 
illustrious adventure, and when the Con- 
vent of La Rabida figures as one of the 
most interesting scenes. 

For another complete series all the 
different places known to have been vis- 
ited by Columbus will be represented. 
" Wherever ship has sailed," he writes, 
"there have I journeyed." So, under the 
limitations of his epoch, this geographical 
illustration must be of comparatively wide 



COLUMBUS Al CHICAGO. 137 

extent. A great relief map of the two 
continents is to be modelled to show the 
routes taken by the navigator in the New 
World expedition, and on which the places 
thus visited will be indicated. To increase 
the interest of this part of the exhibit 
photographers have been sent from Wash- 
ington to obtain a large number of views 
in the West Indies and on the north coast 
of South America, in order to show all 
such places in their present condition. 

An extensive picture-gallery is to contain 
all the paintings in which Columbus figures, 
either as originals or copies, and of them- 
selves presenting a connected story if not 
in all its features authentic. A considera- 
ble number of original paintings probably 
will be loaned for this exhibition ; of such 
as form mural paintings, or for different 
reasons cannot be removed, copies of value 
are to be substituted. A supplementary 
gallery, to represent the court of Ferdinand 
and Isabella, will contain a large collection 
of historical portraits, including those of the 
Pinzons and of Juan Perez de Marchena, 
prior of the Convent of La Rabida, who 



138 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

interceded sucessfully for Columbus after 
his project had been rejected, and whose 
influence in the later issue of securing a 
crew was again decisive. 

The entire series of portraits of Columbus 
acknowledged as having any artistic merit 
will be shown in a separate room. As 
many as forty-five of these singularly 
dissimilar examples — for a considerable 
part is necessarily in the form of copies — 
are already collected. The list includes 
the Rincon, in the private gallery of the 
Queen at Madrid ; the Orchi — claiming, 
like the Yaiiez, of which the Wisconsin 
Historical Society has a copy, to be the 
prime original, and to have been acquired 
by the Orchi family on the dispersion of 
the famous Giovio collection ; the painting 
by Christoforo dell' Altissimus from the 
" Giovio " portrait, mentioned by Vasari 
and now in the Uffizi gallery — of which the 
Massachusetts Historical Society possesses 
the fine copy made for Thomas Jefiferson — 
with the remainder of the group of half a 
dozen or more most prominently figuring 
in the contest for authenticity. The col- 



COLUMBUS AT CHICAGO. 139 

lection of the Duke of Veragua contains 
two of the number for which the claim of 
originality is made, including the Munoz, 
which is comparatively well known. 

With her general good fortune, Chicago 
has secured two of the most esteemed of 
these portraits. The exposition naturally 
may be expected to profit by these as 
property in private ownership. That 
painted by the Venetian artist Lorenzo 
Lotto, and recently purchased by Mr. 
Ellsworth of Chicago, is the only one in 
this country claiming to have been painted 
from life. For this work, received by Mr. 
T. B. Clarke, of New York, in transit, 
the United States government has made a 
requisition. Before passing into the hands 
of its Chicago purchaser, it is to be repro- 
duced at the Bureau of Engraving in 
Washington to place on a bank-note or 
a government security. This showed 
formerly the head of an Indian in the 
background; but the policy of extermi- 
nating the Indian was applied when the 
canvas was cut down, making it only three 
feet by two feet eight inches in size. The 



140 COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

picture was obtained by Mr. Ellsworth 
from Antonio delle Rovere, and its owner- 
ship is traced back to Signer Gandolfi, and 
through the Rossi family at Venice for 
about three hundred years. Although not 
absolutely conclusive, the circumstantial 
evidence is very clear in favor of the 
theory that Lotto, who visited Spain 
under the patronage of the Venetian 
Ambassador at the Spanish court at the 
height of interest in the achievements of 
Columbus, had the privilege of life studies 
in painting this portrait. 

Of the portrait recently secured by Mr. 
Charles F. Gunther, of Chicago, the artistic 
authenticity is credibly established. This 
work was painted by Sir Anthony Moore, 
at the order of Margaret of Parma, from a 
miniature said to have been in the posses- 
sion of the family at Madrid. The portrait 
is the one selected by Irving to illustrate 
his Life of Columbus, and it was obtained 
by Mr. Gunther in England. One of the 
five copies of Columbus portraits in this 
country is that of the Worcester Anti- 
quarian Society, painted by Scardoni ; and 



COL UMB US AT CHICAGO. 141 

the oldest is a public possession in the 
Senate Chamber at Albany, said to have 
been painted in 1592, the centennial of 
the Columbian discovery, by some Span- 
ish artist. 

Another series in this complete life inter- 
est of Columbus will consist of fac-similes 
of all the busts, statues, and monuments 
associated with his name which exist in 
the world, from the fine Genoa monument 
down to the least noble things. These 
copies will be made generally as bromide 
enlargements. 

The personal relics of Columbus have 
been collected in considerable extent. The 
ruins that marked the site of Isabella, the 
first of the Spanish settlements in the New 
World, will be re-erected in this scheme 
of illustration. An authentic anchor, a 
cannon left by Columbus at Navidad — 
where he built a stockade from the wreck- 
age of the Santa Maria — and the identical 
bell that was hung in the church tower at 
Isabella, will be shown. A series of photo- 
graphs just received illustrate the votive 
off*erings from Columbus when up in the 



142 . COLUMBUS THE CATHOLIC. 

Pyrenees Mountains, and from these fac- 
similes are to be made. 

An exceedingly interesting section in 
bibliography will be one of the most im- 
portant combinations in this department. 
This collection will richly illustrate the 
manner in which a knowledge of the dis- 
covery of America was communicated to 
the world, and the swiftly issuing crowd of 
new ideas and fancies in connection. 

A collection of charts and maps will 
show the results of the voyages of Colum- 
bus, beginning with the earliest sketches, 
and continuing down to the representation 
of the present topography marking the 
American continent, and the elaborate 
system of its political divisions. The 
reasons for which America was given its 
name will be elucidated by other exhibits, 
a copy of the first edition of the Cosmogra- 
johiae Introduction published at St. Die, to 
which the continent owes its christening, 
being the most important. This precious 
book, the possession of Mr. Ellsworth, of 
Chicago, will be shown in a glass case 
placed in the centre of the room. Around 



COLUMBUS AI CHICAGO. 143 

it will be gi-ouped a collection of illustra- 
tions of the place where the book was 
printed, portraits of the author and pub- 
lishers, and the patrons under whose 
auspices it was issued. Of the costly first 
editions with which this section is to be 
enriched, nearly all will be generously 
loaned, with very few secured by pur- 
chase : copies of the Tma^o Mundi and of 
other books constituting the librars* of 
Columbus on the Santa Maria will be 
added. A curious series of drawings and 
descriptions will be copied from De Bry. 
Philipono. and other imaginative writers 
of the time, who published fantastic repre- 
sentations of the original inhabitants, the 
faunal life, etc.. of the new continent. 
With the record of these impressions from 
voyagers* reports and travellers' tales will 
be united the ethnological and archaeo- 
logical collections illustrating the true con- 
dition of ancient man in these countries. 

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